Digimon: Bonds
by The Wizard of Runes
Summary: New chosen. New partners. New bonds. And of course, a new Digital World that is being threatened. Will a new group of children be able to master their new situation...and their new partners and powers...and be able to save the day? Will they be able to find the threat in time? Will they recover the very memories stolen from them? The clock is ticking, and its game on.
1. Chapter 1: Lost

Chapter 1: Lost

"Where…where am I?"

Cold and was all that could be felt by the source of the voice, a young boy around eleven years old with brown hair and brown moments ago, he was unconscious and alone in this cold, dark cave, passed out without any idea of where he an orange hooded vest, a white T shirt with a red D on it, red cargo shorts, and blue sneakers, while it seemed like okay clothes none of it seemed too suited for hiking or spelunking, especially since he lacked any backpack or bag to hold things in, with the exception of the red goggles on his head.

And of course, there was the fact he was all alone in a place he did not he got up to his hands and feet, he felt weak still, like an extra layer of grogginess had been added.

"Is…is someone there?Hello?"

He tried to call out, hoping someone would answer, but there was no response. He couldn't even see his way in front of him, let alone anyone here couldn't even see an exit.

Since he didn't even know how tall the ceiling was, he found himself forced to crawl around on all fours so that in case he slipped, he wouldn't fall into some bottomless hole or ravine.

However, he was puzzled and a bit panicked. He had no memories about how he got here. The last thing he could remember was walking to the park, but that was all he remembered. And now, he was in a dark cold cave.

He couldn't even find his phone, his watch, anything he could use to produce to make matters worse, he was starving. Who knew how long he had been passed out for.

"I really wish I could see in this darkness, and had more strength…"

He muttered that out aloud, but then the strangest thing happened. The ground under him glowed red, a red symbol he had never seen before, before dissipating. The light was so bright, he felt the need to put his goggles on…but then he realized that once it dissipated, he could see in this pitch darkness. And his body didn't feel as weak as it used to.

He considered questioning it, but that thought was taken away when he saw a tunnel out of this cavern he was in. It was just big enough for him to crawl through on all fours, and provided a way when he moved…

"Ow! What the…what is this?"

He picked something up. At first, given its metallic property he thought it might be his phone, but it looked far more advanced. It appeared to be some sort of device of some kind, with various buttons and what appeared to be slots to input something. It was primarily red, the same red as the light, and he decided it might be useful somehow if he could get outside and turn it on.

So, he continued forward and headed towards the tunnel, crawling into it and following fact that it led up was promising in itself, but soon after his newfound night vision reduced itself as natural light began to pour into the tunnel from wherever it was close, really close to finding a way out. Soon, he would be outside, and he could hopefully go and get help.

And when he finally got out of the tunnel, he felt the sweet warmth of sunlight as he pulled his whole body out. He was covered in dirt head to foot, absolutely filthy from crawling through that tunnel. But at the very least, he had gotten outside. Now, all he had to do was find a road or a person or something.

"If only my senses were as sharp as an animal's".

And then, just like before as if responding to his words, the symbol appeared. Only instead of it just being on the ground this time, it appeared on the outside of his right hand as almost instantly, he felt all of his senses enhance even further. Sight, hearing, taste and touch too, though the former he had no intention of testing any time soon and the latter he was not sure how to test.

"What is this, magic? What is going on here?"

His words didn't trigger anything this time from the symbol, which had actually been his hope for speaking out loud again. However, there was a device suddenly activated all on its own, as if stirred from its slumber by the question, and then projected a holographic compass that pointed towards a direction into the forest. He knew it was not pointing north though, because the sun was rising from the opposite direction.

"First magic, and then strange advanced technology? Just what is going on?"

Still, he had no idea where he was or which direction to go, so heading towards the point was better then aimlessly wandering. After all, there was no need to set up a trap since he had already been kidnapped and brought here.

Actually, he was still concerned, but that was mostly because he currently had no idea what was going on, or why this had happened to him. The only thing he did know was that he didn't know anything at all right now.

As he followed the point towards its destination though, he began to hear loud crashes and booms, as if two groups were fighting each other. It sounded violent, and dangerous, and something he should avoid at all , he knew he should run in the exact opposite direction of the fighting.

But…this was the first clue as to where he he got lost in this unfamiliar area, no one would go looking for him here. He grew up in the city, so he was not sure what was edible or not. If he found no civilization ever, he would eventually starve.

In other words, if he ran now, it was possible he would never find another chance to contact some form of civilization again and die out here.

Soon after continuing though, he came across what appeared to be a clearing of some were signs of battle and fighting all over, but it was not people he found…but these other strange appeared to be some sort of Goblin, and the other was…a purple furball.

"What are those things?"

Asking aloud once more, he got an answer from his device.

"Dorimon: An In-Training Level Lesser , a Rookie Level Ogre Type Digimon of the Virus belong to the Nature Spirits Family. Goblimon also is a member of the Nightmare Soldiers family".

"Family? Maybe it refers to the ICZN…but to have two families in that…wait wait, that's not the point, there are monsters right in front of me!"

"The full term is Digital Monsters, or Digimon for short".

"What part of them is Digital?!"

For a moment, the device did not respond…or rather, it was more like it refused to reply to that comment. But then, it spoke once more.

"Please be is about to be defeated and absorbed".

Indeed, it looked like the battle had been going bad for Dorimon from the had already badly injured it, and now appeared like he would finish it off for , although giving a tough look, clearly was at the end of the line.

"What do you mean by absorbed?"

"I mean, normally when a Digimon is destroyed, their data becomes a new Digiegg while the extra data is absorbed by the Digimon that , Goblimon seems to have a modification in him that allows him to absorb all the data, which means no new Digi-egg".

"He sounds dangerous".

"Do not worry, you have not been detected. Once Dorimon has been defeated, he will feel satisfied and lower his guard, leaving to go back to wherever he came from. Then, you will be free to continue.I do not suggest approaching Goblimon though, as he will likely try to kill you".

"Wait what? Why? He cant download anything from me, right?"

"No, as a human, the opposite is could download your genetic code, become human, and would much more easily be able to enter your world and cause havoc. You should wait and avoid all possible contact with Goblimon, as he would be ruthless enough to do just that".

At that point, the boy watched as Dorimon was whacked by the club, but instead of it being a finishing blow he only hit it on the side and knocked it a few yards was toying with that brought out his own if he went out there, he would he tried to save Dorimon, they would both die.

"Play it safe, and you will be just fine".

After all, what could he do?He was just an eleven year old boy, forced to suffer in this odd shouldn't even be here, he should be with his friends right now. He should be with his best friend, Izumi. He couldn't just leave Izumi all alone.

But he also knew what the device said was just a comforting lie.

So at the moment Goblimon raised his club up, with all his focus on his prey, the boy ran out of the bushes he was hiding in and the first few moments, Goblimon had been so focused he did not even notice the human was when he swung down, that was when he noticed as the boy dove in and scooped Dorimon up before the club came down, sparing them , Goblimon's club got stuck in the ground which temporarily delayed him.

"Like hell I would be fine just letting someone die like this, voice.I would never be fine with …I am going to need some help when I do come across something I cant hide or run from".

Suddenly, the device in his hand had its screen turn white from black, and a green flower mark appeared.

"Congratulations, you have chosen correctly".

At that point, with all the noise and change, Dorimon finally realized he was still alive.

"Eh…what…what happened…who are…wait, are you a human? And is that a Digivice? Where…how…what?"

"Don't bother asking me, I have no clue what is going on either. And I only just woke up here like, fifteen minutes ago".

They then heard a noise as Goblimon finally ripped its club out of the ground.

"Dorimon…I have no idea what is going on, my best advice comes from this Digivice thing right now, and I am alone in this world full of… it seems like your situation isn't much what do you feel about a team up?"

Dorimon appeared to give it serious though for a moment, but then nodded.

" seem like a good person, and the alternative has me alone as well so…agreed, partner".

And then, as Goblimon began to approach them the Digivice started to go on full , a strange blue barcode like thing seemed to appear connecting Dorimon to the boy.

"My name is Dorimon, pleasure to meet you".

"My name is Yuyan, likewise".

"Partnership Established. Bond Formed. Dorimon Digivolution Requirements Met".

And so as Goblimon charged at them, Dorimon was suddenly covered in this blue barcode like before that appeared from nowhere as a bright light glowed from him.

[Bond Active! DNA Infusion Activated!]

At the same time, a red mark appeared on Yuyan's right hand and Dorumon's back. And then, the light shined even brighter and also came from Yuyan's hand as it created a link between his symbol and Dorumon's.

[Dorimon Digivolves to…Dorumon!]

The sphere of code seemed to increase in size by a little, and Dorimon seemed to grow into something a bit bigger and more powerful. At the same time, the Digivice updated him with new information.

"Dorumon: Rookie level Beast Type Digimon of the Data Attribute, belonging to the families of Nature Spirits, Virus Busters, and Dragon's Roar".

"So they are the same level now?"

"Haaa! You may have Digivolved, but you still cant beat me! And once I absorb you, I can get that human as well!"

Goblimon attacked with its club once more, but Dorumon was faster now and was able to avoid it. It winced a little though, and Yuyan felt it. Something was wrong.

"Of course…the Digivolution restored his energy, but he still has that injury from earlier I bet…he is not at one hundred percent…"

"Do you need me to explain?"

"No, I understand already".

Goblimon kept attacking, but Dorumon managed to keep dodging and even landed a few hits. However, it was plain as day that Goblimon had the upper hand in this battle. And yet, both of them stopped when they felt a strange energy coming from the direction of Yuyan, whose right palm was pointed at Dorumon while a red glowing symbol appeared on it.

A red symbol then also appeared on Dorumon, who felt this strange but beneficial feeling come over him, and he felt like his abilities was no questionioning it, Yuyan was somehow boosting Dorumon.

Before the Goblimon realized this two, Dorumon launched a fierce counter attack while he was distracted, focusing mainly on his Goblimon had enough physical vitality to survive the attack, his arms were much weaker now from the injuries which limited his ability to then came down from below and did a headbutt right into the bottom of his jaw, sidestepping the club swing afterwards and avoiding the attack entirely.

Dorumon was a bit panicked, but first things first…he gathered up all his newfound strength and before the Goblimon could get back into a countering position, Dorumon launched a final attack to finish off Goblimon, tearing through his center and turning him into data.

But Dorumon did not have time to focus on that, as he ran over to Yuyan who had collapsed to his hands and knees and was panting heavily. Seeing that the battle was over, he also canceled Boost, which seemed to take a lot of stress off him.

But he still passed out right then and there on the spot.

* * *

"Digivolution Energy Confirmed. Begining Operations towards Objective".

* * *

DigiData: The Digivice

The Digivice used by Yuyan has an appearance similar to a D3, but with some original differences, and some based on the Digivices from Tamers and Frontier. From Frontier, it possesses the Code Scanner feature as a main point, but also has the card scanner from Tamers, in addition to the Holodisplay. It features several other built in functions as well, from a Digimon Database (Limited Access), to communication features, scanners, and a flashlight. It has other features as well, but those are mostly unknown, hidden, or non-active at this time.

However, it does not feature dimensional storage.

* * *

DigiData: What To Expect

Not much can really be put here, because its an ever evolving thing and feedback is appreciated on that note, but it should be noted that just like normal Digimon, you can expect Action, Adventurer, Comedy, and Digivolutions.

Lets make that clear again, Digivolutions. The stuff we know from the OG, and more.

That said, if you have a Digimon you would like to see, suggest it and it may be incorporated!

Hope you enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2: Unlucky

Chapter 2: Unlucky

Cold again.

That was the first thing that went through Yuyan's mind as he woke back up once more. That he was cold again. The second was everything that had just happened before he passed out.

"…I don't suppose when I open my eyes, it will have all been a dream…"

And when Yuyan opened his eyes, surely enough he was looking at the sky, and he could see trees on the edges of his sight. Plus his body felt sore, and cold, and he could feel hard stone under him.

However, there was something he couldn't feel. He immediately shot up, and confirmed his situation had gotten far worse as now he was completely naked.

Immediately sitting up from shock and embarrassment into a crisscross position, he looked around and saw that his clothes appeared to be hanging from what appeared to be a makeshift clothesline made from a branch, lain out to dry. It also looked like he was actually still a bit wet. And right next to him was Dorumon, resting and guarding the Digivice.

"Dorumon?"

"Eh? Oh! Yuyan! You are awake!"

"Yes, but…why am I naked?"

"Because you were wet".

"Okay…how did I get wet?"

"Because you were dirty".

"…I don't follow…"

"I thought maybe you got so dirty you got sick maybe, so I gave you a bath! But then, I realized wearing wet clothes might make you catch a cold, so I took them off and hung them out to dry!"

Now that Yuyan thought back, he was extremely filthy and needed a bath. No, if he looked down, the bath Dorumon had given him was not even a complete job, there was still filth from crawling through that tunnel in some places…and also…

"Wait, how did you give me a bath?"

"I pulled your body into the river to wash the dirt off".

And that explained why it was not that effective, no scrubbing involved. Although, Yuyan was not sure if he would want Dorumon to scrub him while he was unconscious.

It sort of explained his current situation. Well, now that he learned how it happened, he relaxed a little. He had not really intended, or even thought about it, but since this clearly was not the world he was from, he somehow doubted he would ever gain access to a private bath.

Given the fact that Goblimon was bigger then him, and was registered as a Rookie, and that there were likely large amounts of Digimon who were levels above Rookie and got larger, he could only assume that if they did have bathtubs, they would be massive, probably like the large group ones found in bathhouses.

And then, the next issue occurred then and there…both his stomach, and Dorumon's, growled louder then Goblimon.

"Exactly how long was I passed out?"

"A whole day. Maybe it was because you were not used to this place yet or something, or maybe because you used that weird power thing…hey, how did you do that by the way? It felt amazing, as if my body echoed with energy!"

"Not really sure…honestly, I never did that before. But, last time it worked in a way like that, so I figured why not try?"

"Oh…cool!"

"Anyways, we need breakfast…I don't suppose you know what is edible around here?"

"I know what fruit is tasty!"

"That's a start…"

"…but I don't know if its good for humans".

"At this point I am just about hungry for anything".

"Don't eat me!"

"I never said I would!"

"Alright, so lets go then!"

"Oh no, hold it just a moment…"

Yuyan stopped Doramon from leaving, grabbing him by the tail while a sinister look appeared on his face.

"Uhh…Yuyan…why do you have that look in your eyes?"

"Oh Doramon…before that, I do believe you need a proper schooling in how to properly wash yourself. Don't think I didn't notice, your filthy too!"

"Hey wait now, just hold it…"

"Oh no, you did this to me…no, it was worse because you did it to me while I was unconscious! Accept your punishment!"

"But but…"

Suddenly, the argument stopped there as Dorumon began to growl and snap. That said, it did not seem to be at Yuyan but something in the forest. Something that was approaching.

"Okay, we can talk and bathe later" Yuyan said as he ran over and pulled his clothes on. While less dirty then before, they were still dirty and damp due to sub-par washing, but it wouldn't be completely uncomfortable. He also grabbed the Digivice from Dorumon, and prepared himself. Boost activated on himself, but he only focused on the senses having learned about the ramifications of using it too much so soon after getting that strange power.

And then, their stomachs growled again.

"Change of plans, hide!"

Scooping Dorumon up into his arms, Yuyan carried him off and hid in the bushes. He had to keep Dorumon's mouth covered for a bit to stop him from making noise. It did not take long after that though for the Digimon they had hid from to finally come into view.

At first, Yuyan thought it was Goblimon, but he noticed there seemed to be some minor differences between him and the original. Of course, maybe that was just differences within the same species, but Yuyan decided to use the Digivice to check.

"…its not working…wait, don't tell me its not waterproof?"

Yuyan had not considered the strange, advanced device was not waterproof and therefore may have been damaged by Dorumon's poor attempt at a bath. That was their guide after all, although it had sort of seemed like it was acting a bit snarky. It certainly seemed to possess its own intelligence.

He really hoped that he was wrong and it was not broken, but nothing seemed to be coming up.

"Okay…this is bad…"

And then, he felt something slimy rub against the hand holding Dorumon's mouth, forcing him to let go and release him.

"You calm now?"

"Yeah…anyways, I don't know much, but I believe that is Shamanmon. He is like Goblimon for sure, but he can use magic and stuffs…oh, and he is said to be all seeing".

When Dorumon said that, Yuyan and Dorumon got a bad feeling.

"Does that mean he works together with Goblimons?"

"…yeah, in fact around here group ambushes are one of their specialties…"

The two of them suddenly got a bad feeling about this, and tried to pull back deeper into the forest.

"Now!"

"Attack!"

When they were ambushed on both sides from behind by two Goblimon, both getting whacked right on the head and falling unconscious near instantly.

Yuyan was standing on the side of the road now. He was a bit puzzled what happened or how he got there, but those thoughts left his mind as he remembered he was on his way to school. It was the first day of first grade.

Yuyan as a first grader found himself crossing the street as if everything was normal with his best friend, Izumi. At least, that was how it was supposed to go…until this black van started to speed right towards them from nowhere. And then, there was a scream.

That was when Yuyan woke up in a cold sweat, regaining his consciousness as he looked around. It looked like he was in some crudely made cell, as it was mostly just a cave with metal bars with a door installed in it.

And as for his clothing…gone again, along with his Digivice. He supposed there were not any laws that determined conditions for prisoners to be treated, and even if there were, these creatures were unlikely to be the ones that follow it. However, he now literally had nothing which was troublesome.

"Oh good, you are awake. Are you okay?"

He was then addressed by a voice from behind. He turned around, and saw a new creature now, one that flew with wings and was orange with a white belly.

"…not really. Why did they take my clothes? And who are you?"

"Oh, right! Introductions! My name is Patamon! As for why they took your clothes…well, they thought they were treasures. Why, did you have something useful in them?"

At first, Yuyan wanted to make a comment, but then it occurred to him that most of the Digimon he had seen didn't really wear clothes. Goblimon and Shamanmon did, but they were crude and ineffective, and seemingly the same for all of them which made him wonder if they got them when they Digivolved. But Patamon and Dorumon, as well as Dorimon, didn't wear clothes and were more like animals.

In other words, none of them actually understood the point of clothing except to probably keep warm.

"Well, for the record, when you meet other humans, we usually like to be dressed when going around outside and not be naked".

"Ehhh. Why?"

"It's emb….its a human thing".

"Sounds weird".

"So…any clue what is going on? And where is Dorumon?"

"I think they took him to another cell, something about not letting the Digimon and the Human in the same room. I think they are planning to offer you to their boss when he returns".

"Boss?"

"Must be new to the area. He is a big scary guy called SkullSatamon. An Ultimate level Digimon, no one around here can beat him. He is the leader of this group, Dark Warriors".

As he sat cross legged style, Yuyan contemplated the information he got, and also tried to hold in his laughter at that silly name, Dark Warriors.

"So when is he getting back?"

"Tomorrow. Oh right, that was also why they took your clothes. They are planning to make you into a soup so you taste good to him".

"…he plans to absorb my data…by eating me?"

"Yep".

Suddenly, Yuyan's stomach let out a massive growl and he got a bit paler.

"I need more food".

As if on cue, the cell door behind Yuyan opened and two Goblimon entered, carrying with them all sorts of food. One of them went around and grabbed Yuyan's head, pulling him over to a large flat topped rock that could be used as a table. And then…they started to force feed him food.

"We gotta stuff you right up for the boss! Its no good if you are too boney!"

Being force fed food by Goblimons, who stink, certainly was not the most pleasant of outcomes. Especially given this was to fatten him up to be the main course. But, this might just be the thing Yuyan needed.

Once they were done "force" feeding Yuyan, he couldn't hold it back anymore…and he let out a loud burp. He didn't look quite as stuffed as they expected.

"He looks…not as stuffed as I thought?"

"Maybe we should use the extra food after…"

And then, Yuyan grabbed one of their clubs when they were confused and talking to each other, and bashed them both in the head with a quick and fast movement. Patamon, who witnessed all this, clapped with excitement.

"That was amazing! Are you escaping? Can you take me with you?"

"Sure. Here, eat up".

Yuyan tossed what appeared to be some sort of fruit towards Patamon, who seemed to get it all in one bite. After that, he looked at the Goblimon and Patamon got worried.

"You are not thinking of taking one of those loincloths to wear, right?"

"…maybe, but…these Goblimon…they are really filthy, aren't they?"

"Yeah…also, I always just thought they wore those for a really good reason".

Yuyan and Patamon looked at the Goblimon a bit more.

"Nope! As bad as this is, I don't feel like catching a lethal incurable disease! Lets find Dorumon and the Treasure Room!"

"I don't know where Dorumon is, but the Treasure Room is right next door".

"…you know, if you had told me that sooner, I would never have had to consider the other option".

"…sorry".

And so, after a trip to the treasure room, and getting outfitted all over again, Yuyan also found the Digivice in the same room. It still was not working though, which was a major issue.

"I cant believe this isn't waterproof".

"Wait, you mean the Digivice? It is water proof. Its also fireproof, lightning proof, destructo-laser proof, WarGreymon proof, and human proof".

"Then why wont it work?"

"Is it possible you did not try hitting the on button?"

"…there is an on button?"

"Where, there is little sliding thing right there right? And its set to off right now".

Yuyan had nothing to say as he confirmed that there was indeed a sliding switch like that. He switched it to the on position, and the Digivice came to life.

"Alright, find Dorumon".

The compass activated immediately, and it pointed downward. It appeared that Dorumon was directly below them.

"By the way, how did you knock out those two Goblimon?"

"Its this weird ability I have. I can boost strengths and senses. If I overuse it though, it takes a lot out of me. At least right now since its kind of a new ability".

"I see…I know you just got your stuff back, but you know the lower level is guarded by Champion Level Digimon, right?"

"…Champion level, is it?"

"Yeah, four Ogremon in addition to the Goblimon. Well, you may need to…disguise yourself a bit…"

At those words, Patamon pointed to a pile of "treasure". In truth, it was random junk, some or it worthless or could be purchased really cheaply at stores. But among it was green paint.

"…Weren't you against this idea earlier?"

"I was, but…well…the two of us cant get out of here on our own with all the Guards, and we cant get to Dorumon either. Not unless…"

"I disguise myself as a Goblimon…which wont work at all because I look nothing like Goblimon!"

"Its okay! Goblimon and Ogremon have poor eyesight and are stupid!"

"You know, this is going to be like, the fifth time my clothes were changed today!"

"So? If its so bothersome, don't use them".

"…yeah, arguing that with a Digimon…should have seen that coming…but will this really work?"

"You overestimate their intelligence. Even without bad eyesight, they would fall for it".

"How bad is it?"

"I will put it to you this way. I have seen non-humanoid Digimon paint themselves Green, wear a Goblimon loincloth and sleeveless jacket, and the Goblimon never caught on. Ever".

"…I miss my own world".

And so, yet another change later, along with a lot of paint, and a now green Yuyan wearing an adjusted Goblimon attire walked down the hall. His feet hurt because the path was not paved and Goblimon did not wear shoes, but he held it in as he passed a group of patrolling Goblimon…who had zero reaction. Patamon was right, the Disguise worked.

As for Patamon himself? Well, he wasn't going to stay by himself, and Yuyan wanted to leave immediately and did not want to leave his stuff behind, so they made use of some brown paint that was there, as well as some random junk they cobbled together, to make a fake club. It looked nothing like a Goblimon club even at medium distance, but it seemed to fool them.

It was shocking for sure, but no one caught on and Patamon and his clothes were safely tucked inside where they could not be harmed.

Even when they came across the Ogremon, although he seemed…observant maybe, for a second, he let it go. But then, as Yuyan was passing, the Ogremon guard stopped him and looked at him again, before he sniffed.

"Hmmm…that's a good smell! Maybe you will Digivolve to one of us soon as well! Alright, carry on!"

Yuyan quickly hurried off, his urge to vomit nearly having gone over the threshold of what he could endure. The loincloth alone stunk like crazy, but the breath of Ogremon? That was just…terrifying.

"Alright, the Digivice says that its just up ahead…and it made a snazzy comment on you looking good in those clothes for some reason".

"So help me…whatever, I can deal with that later".

Yuyan continued walking, until he finally came across Dorumon. He was chained up in his cell, locked away and he looked starved. Apparently, he was not on the menu like Yuyan was.

Yuyan ran over to the door to unlock it, but…it was not locked in the first place. The door just swung right open. However, this seemed to stir Dorumon.

"Yuyan…what…what are you wearing? And why are you green? You look silly and ridiculous, and you smell like crazy".

"I needed a disguise to get past the Goblimon and free you. Come on, I have no clue what time it is but we have to leave before their boss comes back".

"But…I am really hungry…"

"That's why I brought you this".

Yuyan then took out some food, and gave it to Dorumon. Dorumon wolfed it down almost instantly, and then with his newfound strength bit the chains off of himself.

"Okay, so what now? We fight our way out?"

"There are at least four Champions and who knows how many Rookies out there waiting for us to try".

"Then, how are we getting out?"

At that point, Yuyan had a bit of a michevous grin as he brought out the spare paint and clothes.

"Umm…there has to be another way…please? Please? Cant we try fighting our way out?"

"Nope. If I had to do it, so do you".

"Mercy?"

"Only way".

"I have a tail though!"

"So? I don't even remotely look like a Goblimon either, yet it worked. Now, its either this, or we let them cook us all for their meal".

Practically wanting to pinch his nose, Dorumon was forced to be painted and don the Goblimon disguise, as weak as it was. Once it was done, as reluctant as any of them were to do this in the first place, they then took this opportunity to leave and head towards the nearest exit before their boss, SkullSatamon, arrived. While it was able to fool all of them, given that they had apparently been taught ambush tactics, it was likely the one who taught them that was both their boss and was intelligent. At least smart enough to get Goblimon and Shamanmon to understand things like that.

And so, the group once more walked past all of the guards. They did keep a watch out for other prisoners, but they didn't see any. However, they did pass a putrid smell coming from a large pot, in what appeared to be the kitchen…along with bones of all shapes and sizes.

"Sickening…"

"Disgusting…"

"…yeah, lets hurry up and get out of here".

Reconfirming their desire to leave, they continued forward. From what they could tell, it looked like this place was built into a large cavern system inside a mountain. It was crude, but it worked. Yuyan still was not sure how they got those jail cells built though.

Eventually, they managed to find the tunnel that went out and up to the outside. At least, based on Yuyan's recent experience with tunnels it seemed like that. Of course, it was not a simple walking tunnel…rather, there was no path at all and people had to climb in and out unless they could fly.

"I cant believe we couldn't find an easier way out".

"I suppose given they hold prisoners here, it sort of makes sense".

"Just hurry up and don't fall!"

Of course, neither Yuyan nor Dorumon had any professional climbing experience so this was difficult for them, and Patamon who was still hiding inside the fake club was worried that if they slipped and fall they would land on the fake club, and therefore him.

However, with Yuyan's strength back he was able to use Boost on himself once again so despite absolutely no experience he was able to hold on, even with the weight of two Digimon.

"Dorumon…did you really have to jump on my back just now?"

"It cant be helped, my body is no good for climbing".

"…you were apparently nimble with them earlier".

"Solid rock is different!"

SO despite all the weight added to him, Yuyan was eventually able to climb out of the tunnel and put his feet back on solid ground. When they looked around, it appeared to be the center of some wooden fort, with other cavern entrances. Apparently there were other routes they did not find, but they could be annoyed at that later.

"Well, looks like there is an open gate over there. Lets go".

Yuyan and Dorumon quickly began heading towards the open gate in order to leave the place, but there was a Goblimon and an Ogremon guarding that stopped them.

"You! Where you two going?!"

Yuyan then tried to force his best Goblimon voice in a reply, which was about so so.

"We going to smash heads! Maybe smash more heads!"

Ogremon and Goblimon looked at the two for a moment, before they nodded.

"Good! Good! You smell good too. And your club…smells like prey Digimon! Excelent!"

Apparently, the Goblimon could smell Patamon, but mistook it as the club having been used to bash one. With that, they were eventually let out and were able to escape. Once they were far enough into the forest that they couldn't be seen though, they turned it into a full sprint.

"Stop there!"

And then ducked when an Ogremon took a swing at them.

"You two! You no Goblimon!"

Apparently, one of them finally noticed the terrible disguises.

"Goblimon would know better then to run in that direction! That were Anti-Dark Worriors people come from!"

Or not, apparently we messed up in our running direction. But rather, wasn't that information telling us what direction to keep traveling in? Well, if we escape our current situation that is.

"Hey, Patamon…can a Rookie Digimon beat a Champion?"

"Huh? Well, yeah it can happen. It would be really tough, but if they have trained themselves enough a Digimon can win against a Digimon one level higher. Asking to beat one that is two levels higher is asking for the impossible most likely though".

"Alright then, so its not hopeless…lets do this, Dorumon!"

"Ah, sure. But Yuyan…"

At that point, Dorumon pointed out that from the rapid movement, and also probably due to a certain Digimon's riding his back and squirming, his disguise had fallen back down to the ground, and his face turned bright red as he moved his fake club in front of his body. Between Dorumon's claws, and the force applied from dodging the club, it had split apart.

"Just hurry up and fix this!" Yuyan shouted, applying Boost to Dorumon. In that same instant, Dorumon seemed to disappear instantly and appeared behind Ogremon, spinning around and launching a powerful kick into the back of it's head. It tumbled forward, but Dorumon was not done yet, as it fired some sort of metal attack to finish it off.

"Woah, I have never seen a Dorumon move that quickly!"

"Huh…so far, Boost has mainly amplified strength…"

"I wonder if the fact you told him to hurry caused it to boost his speed more instead?"

Yuyan, temporarily distracted from his situation by the display in front of him, ended up conversing a little with Patamon about his own unknown power. It seemed there was still much to learn about the strange Glyph he could create, that was currently appearing on Dorumon's back.

And yet despite that Boost, Dorumon got hit from the side by a Goblimon.

"He is still outnumbered!"

Yuyan looked down, and went red a little. But given what was going on, he did not have much of a choice. As Dorumon dodged the Goblimon and fired off another attack, Yuyan quickly ran and applied Boost to himself as he grabbed a club from the fallen Ogremon. The two Goblimon, so pre-occupied by Dorumon who lost Boost, were surprised by Yuyan's attack, who proceeded to hit them with a full force bash. Between Boost, the force of the club, and the fact it came at them by surprise, Yuyan successfully dealt enough damage to reduce them all to code, including the Ogremon.

He then grabbed the fake club that held their belongings, but before he could put anything on, they heard commotion coming back from the base.

"Yuyan! Boost me and get on!"

"Right! Patamon, hold on!"

"On it!"

Yuyan applied Boost to Dorumon again, and hopped on with the belongings as Patamon jumped and clung onto…

"Patamon! Not my butt!"

"I cant help it! Your waist was the closest and easiest to grab, and we cant slow down now!"

"Uhg….fine! Just keep running!"

And so, the group managed to escape their captors and ran off into the forest, towards those apparent Anti-Dark Warriors…unless that was their actual name and not a grammar mistake by the Ogremon and Goblimon when they said Worriors.

* * *

DigiData: Powers

Although they are known to be rare, some DigiDestined or Digimon Tamers, or whatever else they are called, are known to develop supernatural powers on occasion. Although sometimes, some seem to be purposefully made to develop, these abilities have been known to show extreme helpfulness are appear as needed. Aside from Yuyan's Boost, other confirmed versions are Thought, or Telepathy, as well as manipulation and sensory based abilities.

However, the appearance of such can sometimes indicate that great strife is approaching, and things will get worse before they get better.

* * *

DigiData: Digital World (Digi-Bond Version)

The Digital World is a place originally only inhabited by Digimon, and not humans. As a result, it is isolated from human concepts and ideas, and their common sense. That said, the Digital World is a place full of diversity and wonder, so one should find it easy to take a liking to the place. Just replace for oddness, weirdness, and maybe just a pinch (or a gallon) of hillarity. To add to the danger that is usually ever growing.

Good luck!


	3. Chapter 3: DigiPower and Digivolution

Chapter 3: DigiPower and Digivolution

The next morning, the first thing that Yuyan did was get dressed…not.

"Uhg! Scrub harder Dorumon!"

"I am trying! Please do the same!"

Yuyan was bathing in the river with Dorumon and Patamon, trying to wash the green paint, and the smell, off of them from their escape. None of them wanted to smell like a Goblimon after all. Goblimon had by far one of the foulest, if not the foulest, smell among all Digimon. The stink was enough that none of them could even hope to sleep, and enough for Yuyan to disregard his normal shyness and embarrassment.

They just really wanted that smell gone, and were giving it their all to get rid of it. Even if it was for a disguise, it was just absolutely terrible and was being stubborn when they were trying to remove it.

Unfortunately, despite all their best efforts, it was not really working. Because, they lacked soap and shampoo and other various methods to deodorize.

"I suppose its pretty much pointless, until we make it to a town and use a proper bathhouse".

"There are towns and bathhouses here?!"

Although Yuyan liked a good relaxing soak, at least on his own, so far he had not seen any indication that Digimon had stuff like that. After all, they didn't even really had a concept of clothing, except for those Goblimon and Ogremon. And somehow, they were at the fringes of civilization, pretty much completely uncivilized.

It was a good reminder that it was a totally different world. Although he hoped that maybe it would not be just a bathhouse they found, but a hot springs. After everything, he could use a dip in the hot springs.

"Hmm…maybe this will help!"

Suddenly, Dorumon broke his train of thought with a massive splash of water into his face from a tail swipe. This ignited Yuyan's boyish playful side, and returned fire with his own splashes. This was followed by Patamon joining in as well, resulting in the three of them playing in the river with each other. It was a needed serene moment of peace, to help get everyone back on track.

Eventually they had finally tired themselves out, and plopped their bodies on a rock in the sun. No one had any towels after all, so it was the only way to dry themselves.

"I thought you said humans did not like being without clothes?"

Yuyan's face turned a bit red, but he was too tired from earlier to really get embarrassed or do anything about it.

"Well there are exceptions. Like when you are bathing, or with good friends".

"Friends?"

"So you admit we are friends?"

Yuyan smiled as he laid out in a star position, and enjoyed the sun for some time. The warmth felt good, and rejuvenated his spirit.

"By the way…are you planning to put those clothes back on and transfer the smell to them?"

But unfortunately, he did have a bit of an issue to deal with still.

Eventually, after some time had passed, they finally got back on the road. Of course, Yuyan was only wearing his boxer shorts and his vest to minimize the smell spreading to his clothes. Goblimon really did smell terrible, but his vest was made of materials that were not that absorbant, and well…he wanted to wear something on his lower body that was not from a goblimon, and not made of leaves and twigs.

However, whatever made Goblimon smell the way they do, really did spread. Everything he was wearing would have to be thoroughly cleansed. If only…

"…hmmm?"

And that was when he finally caught a whiff of something in his nose. It was faint, but…

"Hey, is that a building up ahead?"

"That sign…steam from water…is that a hot springs?"

The moment he heard that, Yuyan perked up almost instantly. The idea of a hot springs….of soap, of proper clothes washing techniques. So far, his clothes had been covered with dirt, grime, sweat, and touched by Goblimon and stored in their treasure room. And not only that, but himself…well, there was only so much he could handle.

Meanwhile, Patamon and Dorumon slunk back a little while Yuyan was distracted and began to talk with each other.

"…is it me, or is he a bit too obsessed with cleanliness? I know we still stink of Goblimon, but…he seems to think about it a lot".

"It can't be helped. In truth, he is still processing about suddenly being in a different world. After all, he woke up here, alone, in a dark cave, and then thrown into one chaotic situation after another? Its incredible his mind is not broken yet".

The two Digimon discussed things like that as they headed towards the Hot Springs.

The moment they entered, the atmosphere alone just seemed to invite them in. There was all sorts of things there, from lounging areas, to what looked like changing areas, to what could only be imagined to be a hot springs area. And right in the front, there was a Palmon right there manning the front desk.

The only reason Yuyan knew it was a Palmon though was thanks to his Digivice, which came to life and told him all about her.

"Oh, what a surprise! To see another human! What a rare occurrence! Oh, sorry, you want to enter ri…"

As the trio approached, the Palmon suddenly stopped talking and started smelling…and instantly, the Palmon went and entangled them in vines!

"What the….you stink! No wonder you wandered in! Luna, these trio need a bath immediately!"

Almost instantly, the vines seemed to drag them right into the changing rooms, and made them forcibly discard their belongings including the clothes that Yuyan was wearing. Handling so many tasks at once, she seemed to take special note of the clothes and dragged them off somewhere.

Yuyan wanted to complain, and be embarrassed, but…his clothes really did need a wash, which is what he hoped she would do to them. However, before he could think much more, he was tossed into the next room and made to sit on a stool, where the vines then finally released him and stopped treating him like a ragdoll.

Dorumon ended up sitting next to him, and Patamon after that. The three were suddenly sprayed with cold water from behind, which made them shiver quite a bit, before a brush full of soap hit his back from behind.

Even though he knew it was vines, he looked back to complain and…

"Oh shush now, little boy. Don't make a ruckus and let me finish washing you, here let me hold you still".

Yuyan's face suddenly went so much more red. Infinitely more red. After all, the person who was washing him, who could see him naked, was a girl who was at least in high school age. And she was beautiful, and she seemed very familiar to him.

Of course, out of embarrassment he tried to squirm his way out, but she kept his grip on him and stopped him from estaping, pulling him in closer as she washed and scrubbed his whole body.

"Wow, this scent really is not coming out…I guess you must have been captured by Goblimon, or something like that".

She said this while pulling him in even closer. Yuyan wanted to protest a little….maybe a lot…that he was naked and she was not. But he didn't quite have the strength to bring that up, so he just nodded at the question.

"Alright then, I guess this will take awhile then. Kobayashi, stop hiding in the corner and sit down too! And you too, Gabumon".

"What! But…"

"I am still not finished with you either, so you can get out here and sit, or I can hold you both together and scrub at the same time…and that means you have to be nose deep in Goblimon smell".

"Eeek…that smells terrible even from here…"

"Kobayashi!"

"Alright, alright!"

Suddenly, a boy with white hair and red eyes, rather peculiar traits, came out holding a towel in front of him, with a Gabumon in tow. But there was something else, a Blue Digivice was on a string around his neck. He sat down next to Yuyan, and then suddenly his towel was snatched away by the woman who started to use it to help to wash Yuyan.

This was not some exaggeration of action though, his smell was enough that Kobayashi was not just crying from embarrassment. This could be told because Gabumon was also producing some tears, and Palmon from earlier was now not only washing Yuyan's clothes, but her own vines, with extreme prejudice.

In short, Goblimon were filthy, filthy creatures, and to smell like a Goblimon was considered an insult people just usually said to each other, and not literally mean.

Yuyan actually laughed a little though when it got ticklish. He felt like the soap was also getting infused into his very skin, but even he felt he could probably use it. Especially given he could not get any sleep last night due to the smell.

Eventually, once the scrubbing calmed down, and he stopped squirming as much, he looked over at the other two.

"So….ummm…you both are humans also? Do you know how I got here? How did you get here?"

"Oh…actually, I was hoping you would tell me. I just suddenly woke up here…well not here. I woke up on a mountain and I was not dressed for climbing, so I ended up tumbling, and eventually got covered in dirt and mud, hence why I am here".

Needless to say, they both had difficulties after they woke up in this world. And it seemed that his partner, Gabumon, was met quickly along the way just like how Yuyan met Dorumon.

"Well, I kind of came here on accident…I may have been running away from my no good parents, who were about to be arrested for being criminals…and I just decided to stay here and run this place" she said as she scrubbed both their backs at once. She seemed to be quite skilled at this. "Alright, I think I got you all scrubbed down and cleaned off! No more Goblimon smell!"

"Finally!"

"Yay!"

She had also washed Patamon and Dorumon, though they were far easier to do it seemed. With that done, the five of them could finally go and enter the main attraction: the hot springs. The two human boys went in with their towels, while the Digimon just ran and jumped in. Once the doors were closed though, they also left their towels by the side and joined in the open air hot springs.

"Ahhhhhh…..all the stress of the last few days is just washing away…"

"It feels so wonderful…finally, a proper soak!"

And both Yuyan and Kobayashi immediately hit it off with some idle talk once they entered the water. It seemed both of them really needed this.

"Ahhhh…the warm water makes my fur feel rejuvenated…"

"So this is a glorious hot springs!"

"I feel as if I got a burst of data!"

No, it was not just the humans. The Digimon were also clearly enjoying it.

It seemed that everyone needed a good soak. That said, Yuyan looked back at the two digivices left near the edge of the hot springs. He had left his in a bin, but it seemed Dorumon thought Kobayashi was showing his off and wanted to counter. It was a passing emotion though, so nothing weird happe…

Suddenly, Kobayashi and Yuyan felt themselves lifted out of the water by their Digimon, who then began to point at various places of their body to compare.

"See, Kobayashi has tougher skin right here!"

"Well, Yuyan has a bit more muscle here in this arm!"

"Oh yeah, well look down here, this is clearly bigger!"

"No way! Yuyan is clearly bigger!"

Nevermind. It got weird again. Both Yuyan and Kobayashi thought that.

"Put us down!"

They both yelled that simultainously, and so the Digimon finally put them down. But it seemed that Dorumon and Gabumon had entered some sort of rivalry, which somehow caused them to debate on whose partner was better.

"Haaa…this is all so weird and new…"

"Yeah…I wonder how home is like…how are they reacting…"

At the change in conversation, Yuyan and Kobayashi scooted close to each other until they were tight, shoulder to shoulder, and leaned against each other.

"…you think we will ever see them again?"

"…I don't know. I don't want to give up, but I don't know either…"

And so, as they relaxed, the two of them finally let down their guard enough to release all the pent up stress and emotion they had been holding in.

Later that night, the group of them finally retired to a room in the Hot Springs they had for guests. Dorumon and Gabumon were on the floor, while Yuyan and Kobayashi were now sound asleep in the same bed, the covers in all sorts of disarray. Although they did manage to have some dinner, they eventually ended up crying themselves to sleep. Patamon was at the foot of the bed, totally asleep as well. They all looked rather peaceful, earning their long deserved sleep.

But what no one had noticed was a small black spider, with a singular eye for a head, watching them in secret.

"Confirmed. Human-Digimon Bonds Detected. Initializing SmartPlan Software. Initiating Calculated Response".

And it began to communicate in secret, while continuing to observe them stealthily.

The next day began, and right after they had breakfast the group decided to enjoy the hot springs again instantly, this time without embarrassment from the older girl who worked here…which did not happen.

"We can wash ourselves! And the Goblimon stink is gone!"

"This is my job, and I gotta do something! With all the chaos recently, business has gone down a bit, but I cant just lie around and do nothing!"

"Speaking of which, aren't our clothes clean by now?"

"Not quite. Goblimon stink can get really hard to get out, and Palmon has to do it by hand since we don't have machines for it. But she should have it done soon, which means she just needs to dry it after that. She worked really hard all night, so you should appreciate her doing that and putting up with that stench".

Thankfully, she didn't take as long as last time at least, so they were let into the hot springs.

"Ahhhhh….this is the life…hot springs are wonderful…"

"Indeed…I wish I could go in one every day".

It appeared that a hot springs addiction had developed in the hum…

"Sooo gooooood".

"Everything feels restored…"

"My nose feels so clear and wonderful…"

Nope, the Digimon had as well.

But as Yuyan and Kobayashi were fully engulfing themselves in hot springs, both of their Digivices suddenly lit up and activated with a warning.

The two immediately switched into an alerted state, and tried to stand up and run towards the digivices. However, two mysterious spectral hands came from above and grabbed both Yuyan and Kobayashi, and pulled them away before they could reach them.

"What? Did I surprise you?"

A malevolent voice spoke to them as the hands dropped them outside the hot springs inn, dripping wet and completely exposed. And not just in terms of clothing, but neither of them had their Digimon or Digivice with them. It was pretty obvious to them the enemy had deliberately aimed for them at this moment.

"Shadow Bolts!"

And then, a mysterious invisible figure near them sent out various bolts of shadow energy that flew right towards them to finish them off. Yuyan grabbed Kobayashi and threw both of them out of the line of fire, unconsciously activating Boost on himself to do so.

Kobayashi, who saw that, was amazed. But not so amazed that the two did not hide behind a tree.

"Wait, you also have a weird thing like that?"

"Yeah…wait, you do as well? You can Boost?"

"Not quite…mine is different…"

"Well, we need all the help and time we can get so we can regroup with the others".

Meanwhile, the invisible Digimon flew around the tree, preventing them from…

"Where did you two go?!"

They had already disappeared. The Digimon scoured the area for them, and then saw a nearby bush move.

"Shadow Bolts!"

It immediately fired off more projectiles, obliterating the bush completely…only, nothing was there. And then, a pinecone hit the invisible Digimon in the back of the head, forcing it to turn around as the wind picked up.

"Are you so foolish that you really thought that would do something to me?!"

However, it quickly regained its composure, and realized they were just trying to buy time for their Digimon partners to find them, maybe have him make a racket to make it easier. Although, he still was not sure what tricks they were using, because he had still not seen them yet.

Was it invisibility?

"You think you can hide from me?!"

Meanwhile, Yuyan and Kobayashi were in full sprint back towards their friends. But it did not take too long, as they ran into them coming to them, along with the older girl who tossed them their Digivices, and their clothes.

"You better hurry, before he returns".

The two nodded, and in possibly record time, got dressed, with Kobayashi wearing a blue windbreaker, white T shirt, blue shorts, black sneakers, and his digivice hanging around his neck. In Yuyan's case, his digivice was normally attached to a loop on his cargo shorts.

Unfortunately, they had run out of time as the invisible Digimon launched another attack on them from a hidden location. They had to dodge again, although it almost seemed like he was going faster than before.

 _Or at least that's what they think…_ Patamon thought to himself. _In truth, its all that silly clothing they are wearing. Their bare feet are better able to grip the ground, and those clothes flapping around generates wind resistance. But…if I say that now, they might glare at me, so I will keep it to myself._

So that was Patamon's opinion, although it was the opinion of someone who didn't wear clothes.

Meanwhile, Palmon and the girl were having their own conversation.

"Come on! We gotta help them!"

The girl took out her own Digivice, but then looked at the boys.

"No, this is their moment. And look, I have never seen that model of Digivice before, right? It means they are important, which means they need to learn 'that' right now".

"That…I see…"

Suddenly, the girl took a step forward, and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"You two boys! There is little hope you can defeat it as is! You only have one choice, you have to have your Digimon Digivolve!"

"Digivolve?"

"Wait, you mean they can Digivolve again?"

"Of course!" she said, as she and the others dodged another attack from their invisible enemy. "There are many forms of Digivolution! Normal Digivolution, Matrix Digivolution, Warp Digivolution, Armor Digivolution, Spirit Digivolution, DNA Digivolution, and so much more! But it requires energy, heart, and spirit!"

"Spirit?"

"You can't just press a button! You have to shout from the depths of your heart and truly say it! And, usually some fancy body movement helps!"

"What is this, a cartoon or anime?!"

"Its…" she started, but the group dodged yet another barrage. However, this time she didn't quite dodge so well, and got a bit bruised and dusted. "…its your only hope".

Technically that was a lie, but but only technically. Digivolution was their only hope, but she could have Palmon digivolve whenever she wanted. But, these boys needed to learn how to do this now.

"From the soul…"

"To say something like that…"

The two seemed resistant for a silly reason, but because it was silly, they quickly got the resolve to do what was needed, and gave each other a nod. However, Patamon seemed concerned.

"But…they only formed the bond a few days ago…will it be strong enough to handle normal Digivolution?"

That went unheard though, as the two started.

"Dorumon…" "Gabumon…"

The two of them called upon their partners, as they put their thumbs on the scanner at the top of the Digivice and hoped they were doing this right. Suddenly, they slid their thumbs off in a fast motion and drew it back, almost identical to a typical Yu-Gi-Oh Card Draw. Only what followed their thumbs were code.

"…Execute: Digivolution!"

And said the next words as they sort of dragged, or smeared, the code in front of their bodies. And then, suddenly, the four of them were engulfed in huge spheres of data centered on each of them.

"User Input Accepted: Digivolution Accepted".

Rings appeared in front of Dorumon and Gabumon, who were floating, and then the two were floated right through them, as they began to dematerialize before they would rematerialize using the additional data.

"Warning: No Previous Digivolutions Found. Scanning for new Digivolutions".

Although in the dataspheres, time was accelerated so much that all this was happening in Nanoseconds, for them it seemed like Dorumon and Gabumon paused while in that state.

"Digivolutions Found. Checking for Plausibility".

"Warning: Energy Insufficient for normal Digivolution. Testing ALternatives".

And so, it began to scan and check for additional Digivolutions.

"Warp Digivolution: Failed".

"Armor Digivolution: Incomplete".

"Rune Digivolution: Incomplete".

"DNA Digivolution: Failed".

It just kept going and going.

"Burst Digivolution: Failed".

And going and going, at speeds that surpassed what anyone could truly witness, the Digivices tried their best….but everything was failing. It wasn't ready.

"Fusion Digivolution: Failed".

"Error. Error".

The program was bugging out, and then it attempted to deconstruct and reconstruct all the methods. Through all the code of Digivolution, these new Digivices feverishly sought an answer that did not exist.

So they created one.

"…Digivolutions Created".

"DNA Burst Digivolution:".

And so it tested…

"…Accepted".

"Syncro-Digivolution: Accepted".

And so, resuming to the normal accelerated time inside the Digivolution Bubbles. And through the Digivices, information appeared into their heads, a new command to finish the process. And so, as the code gathered into their thumbs, they pressed them down into the center screen of the Digivice and overwrote their previous command.

"Execute! DNA Burst Digivolution!"

And so the process continued, and completed. Both Yuyan and Kobayashi practically fell to their knees from the drain in energy in their own bodies, but in exchange…their partners finished Digivolving into something new…and once they went through those rings for a second time…

[Dorumon DNA Burst Digivolves to…VelociDorumon!]

[Gabumon DNA Burst Digivolves to…PsiGarurumon!]

And so once the databubbles dissipated, the girl, Palmon, and Patamon looked in awe. Although Yuyan and Kobayashi looked terrible and drained, Dorumon had gotten a bit bigger, but notably had stronger and more powerful claws, what appears to be stronger and faster legs, and even…something that half looked like wings on its back.

Meanwhile, Gabumon had digivolved into what appeared to be something inbetween Gabumon and Garurumon, only instead of a horn on its head, there was a purple gem.

"Incredible…a new type of Digivolution…"

"To think…they were given that sort of power…"

"Hmm! You think that scares me! You cannot defeat what you cannot find! And now your humans are vulnerable!"

And yet, before the Digimon got an attack off, PsiGarurumon fired a beam of light from its crystal on its forehead at what appeared to be empty air…only, it hit something, and revealed it to them. All of the Digivices finally had a reaction.

"DarkWizardmon. Virus Type. Extremely Dangerous Champion Level".

"Well well, so you learned my name huh? Well, that wont be enough to beat me! Shadowspike!"

"Psi-Blaster!"

DarkWizardmon tried to send a large spike of shadow energy at them, but PsiGarurumon blocked it with a Psi-blast while VelociDorumon suddenly appeared at super fast speeds next to it, and slammed its tail into it.

"Ultimate Tail Splash!"

"You are not in water for that VelociDorumon!"

"Fine! Ultimate Tail Slap!"

And so, DarkWizardmon was smashed right into the ground and received heavy damage.

"…Didn't the Digivice say it was dangerous?"

"Yeah, but it just got double teamed against two Digimon that were made from a form of Digivolution that was literally just created. And, it was probably staying invisible for a reason. It was probably that invisibility that made it dangerous".

"Huh. I suppose that is…"

And then, both Digimon reverted back to their rookie forms, and Yuyan and Kobayashi fell back to the ground with all their energy drained.

"Alright, I suppose I will have to undress them and get them into the hot springs again. We definently cant let them leave in this state".

"…I am starting to get the feeling she is doing this purposefully to mess with them for her own enjoyment…"

"Its her hobby. Also part of the reason why they are not getting charged for anything".

"Oh….well okay then! Have fun!"

Meanwhile, in the distance, the group was still being watched.

"Calculating next possibility. Unknown Digivolution, Unknown Energies detected. Assessing situation. Will continue to observe".

* * *

DigiData: Goblimon

Rookie type Digimon, they tend to make up for their weakness with numbers. And with that, also their smell. Generally considered one of the foulest smelling Digimon in the universe, it has been known that in some areas require a full down scrubbing. This is not an exageration, but rather a safety precaution, as some Beast Type Digimon are known to attack Goblimon not just on sight, but smell. This is especially prevalent in Virus Busters, and should not be underestimated by any standard.

In truth, the treatment given to Yuyan was actually a nice version. Other places would have burned the clothes, and used water that was more on the scalding hot side along with industrial soap and large amounts of force.

It should be noted Goblimon are one of the most hated types of Digimon due to the trouble they cause as well. There are no cases of good Goblimon, even though there are even cases of good Devimon.

* * *

DigiData: Yuyan's BioData

Hair: Brown, medium long

Eyes: Brown, occasionally red now under extreme exertion.

Age: 11

Height: 122cm

Scars: Minor traces of some sort of injury on his back, but hardly noticable.

Weight: 78 lbs.

Main Hand: Prefers right, but is ambidexterous.

Allergies: None

Blood Type: A+


	4. Chapter 4: Issues

Announcement: Special Author's Note and stuff at the bottom! Read fully!

* * *

Chapter 4: Issues

"So, lets get something straight".

That sort of serious language was used as Yuyan, Kobayashi, Dorumon, Patamon, and Gabumon sat around a makeshift fire at night at their extremely makeshift campsite. As the only piece of camp in that campsite was the fire.

"We have no money. We have no supplies. And we have no idea how or why we are here. That sum it up?"

"We dont even have backpacks to carry supplies in".

"Right! We dont even have bags to carry any supplies we finally get in! We are litterally sleeping on the dirt! Anything else?"

Kobayashi looked at the fire, and seemed a bit irritated.

"Its...not just me, right Yuyan? You are missing more then just your memories of arriving here?"

Kobayashi finally hit the topic they had been skirting around. The full extent of their missing memories.

"...yeah. Most of mine are in tact, but the past week before arriving, I have large gaps in my memory as well. I doubt this was an accident or forgetfulness".

"So, lets just clear this up. We were dragged here for unknown reasons, led to bond with Digimon by an unknown voice that came from our Digivices, which is now missing in action, we have no memories of being dragged here, and our memories of before are clouded and fragmented. And we dont even have a single spare sandwhich".

"Yep".

"We are screwed. You know we wont last long if we cant find food or water right?"

"I am aware. We have multitudes of issues. But, we cant do anything about it now. Lets just...head towards town. We were told by Palmon that there should be a town up ahead. If we can reach that, we can regroup".

"...with no money to buy anything we need..."

With that note, the group decided to call it a night and get some sleep.

The next day, they were on the road again, figuratively speaking. They were making their way through a forest, so there was no actual road. But they were at least making progress, even if so far they had only found berries, and one apple tree that was not as ripe as they wanted it to be.

It was almost as if they were the epicenter of misfortune.

Still, it was interesting for Yuyan and Kobayashi to explore this place he had never been in before. To them, this forest was full of new things and some unexplainable things, like the floating trees that grew its roots from its position floating above down to the ground. And some trees seemed to drop pinecones that, some time after being dropped, could explode.

For a place called the Digital World, they were not quite expecting so much...nature...

"It definently feels weird for me. I am...or was...a city kid after all".

"Yeah, me too. It makes me wonder what their cities will be like".

The two were chatting like that. This was another weakness of the group, as neither Yuyan nor Kobayashi had the knowledge or skills to camp out.

Probably why their camp sites up to this point has been a single, shappy looking fire. Created by Patamon.

"You guys really need to brush up on your survival skills!"

"We get it okay!"

Yuyan replied to Patamon as he looked at his Digivice, specifically at the Digivolution options they had available.

Right now, there were three listed, but one was greyed out. That was just the simple Digivolution. While unlocked to view, it seemed that they lacked requirements to use it. However, then there were two more.

The first, DNA Burst Digivolution. According to the data in the Digivice, it seems it was a new Digivolution created from the concepts of DNA Digivolution, Burst Digivolution, and bits from Matrix and Bio-Merge Digivolution. From what they understood, and experienced, it bursts open the DNA structure to extract the core Code hidden inside, and creates energy out of essentially nothing. Of course, it comes at a price, inducing pain, as it is essentially breaking down ones DNA and the structure it is made of. And other complicated things.

It also puts a drain on energy, so even if the amount produced exceeds the amount used, its not something that can just be done easily. The first time they used it, both Yuyan and Kobayashi pretty much collapsed and basically passed out. Supposedly, the more they use it the easier it will get for them, but...it seemed that the technique holds quite a bit of danger.

And then, there was Syncro-Digivolution. It was almost exceedingly vague, but part of it seemed to indicate while it was good to use anytime, even if your Digimon is badly hurt, it could be useful still. And it talked about doubling combat ability or something like that.

So basically, they had one technique that could kill them if they didn't use it properly, and another technique that they had no clue what it could do yet. They considered trying to test it, but as Digivolution takes energy, and they were low on supplies, they did not even have the leniency for that.

And of course, there was still a good chance they were being hunted down by someone or something. After all, they were deliberately targeted while taking a dip in the hot springs...and eventually, they would want to take another bath.

That is, if they didn't die of various other things first. Such as hunger or exposure. If it got any colder, or any hotter, or if they had to cross snowy mountains or a dry desert, they were probably done for.

And suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the very thing he was thinking about, hunger, as his stomach rumbled as loud as a truck horn.

"Berries really are not enough. We need more food, food and nutrition. At least for you humans" Patamon said. Patamon was perfectly able to get along with berries, but he was the smallest and mainly ate fruits and vegetables. Of course, they could also satisfy themselves with data.

And then suddenly, they heard something that sounded like growling around them. They immediately made a circle formation and looked around them. Yuyan picked up a large stick to defend himself with, while Kobayashi got a rock. And then, they all got attacked at once from all sides, and Yuyan's and Kobayashi's Digivices activated.

"Gazimon. Rookie Level Virus Attribute Digimon. Nightmare Soldiers Family. Known for claw and poison attacks".

One of the Gazimon noticed Yuyan, and immediately charged at him. Yuyan applied Boost to just his arm, and swung the stick right at Gazimon. The Gazimon was knocked far backwards, while Yuyan adjusted his footwork.

Meanwhile, another one tried ot immediately hit Kobayashi, but got a rock thrown right at its face at high speeds and sent it recoiling.

And Patamon, Gabumon, and Dorumon had all taken out one themselves. However, there was an issue. Based on numbers, it was four against one, as there were twenty Gazimon they could see at least, and only five of them.

"Aquary Pressure!"

Suddenly, shots of water came out of nowhere and pierced several Gazimon at once, defeating them and turning them into data. The group of them looked around, and saw a humanoid Digimon riding down on a broom who seemed to be the source of the attacks. It launched several more attacks, which chased away the Gazimon, before it finally landed in front of them.

"Hello, young ones. By any chance, would you happen to be lost?"

As it asked them a question, Yuyan checked his Digivice.

"Witchmon. Champion Level Data Attribute Digimon. Nightmare Soldiers Family and of the Demon Man Type. Known for magic, and multiple love affairs with Wizar..."

"You, Digivice. Do you think it is wise to talk about the love relationships of a woman?"

"...error. Self Preservation Protocal Activated. End of Data".

Yuyan and friends turned a bit red when they realized they had heard something they shouldn't have.

"Ah...ahem...my name is Yuyan, and we are traveling to Access City. We heard that the fastest way was to head through Firewall City, and the Folder Mountains".

"I see. It seems you got some reliable advice then. However, you are far too severely unprepared for this journey. In the first place, look at how dirty you already are...and I dont see any bags. You have been sleeping on dirt, haven't you?"

For the past few days, they definitely had been sleeping on dirt. Without any bags or other such belongings, they have had no choice but to.

"If you wish, you can stay at my place for the night. Not only do I have a bath, but I even have plenty of food and sweets, surely enough to spare some for your travels".

The moment they heard sweets, Yuyan and Kobayashi's ears perked up. Even if they had some decent food at the hot springs place, there wasn't any candy there. It would be a good change of pace, and a great moral boost.

Furthermore, it wasn't like she was a Virus type like every other Digimon that tried to kill them, so it was totally safe to go forward and take her up on her offer.

"Yes please!"

Suddenly, Yuyan and Kobayashi's Digivices started to have a bit of a reaction.

"...those things better not be about to reveal more about a lady's secrets though".

"Ah, no no! They just do that sometimes" Yuyan said, stuffing it into his pocket and turning it off. "Probably just something about the Digivolution I was looking into earlier. It can wait".

"Alright then. Follow me, I will show you to where I live".

Some time later, after following Witchmon, they eventually came to a nice little two story home nestled deep within the woods. However, the house in itself was truly spectacular, as it was designed with all sorts of tasty and hunger inducing ornaments, appearing almost like it was gingerbread house. It certainly was very friendly and inviting to children, particularly hungry ones.

"Something about this almost seems familiar..."

"Hmmm...maybe it is this tasty smell?"

The two boys were a bit intrigued by the appearance, but ultimately their stomachs won over and they along with their Digimon followed them inside. And inside, there was an entrance hall for people to take their shoes off, a hat rack, and some other things.

"Well then, normally I might ask a few boys like you to undress and take a bath before you start eating, but you seem rather hungry. So how about you take off just some things, make yourselves at home, and you can take a bath after you eat your fill. Sounds good?"

The two just nodded, taking off their vests and jackets, shoes, socks, and shorts. Everything else never actually touched the dirt, and still covered their bodies. They didn't even think much of it being just in T shirts and boxers, possibly due to their prior experiences and also because they were a combination of hungry and exhausted.

Well, plus wearing the same things non-stop eventually did bother them also, so this helped them relax a bit more. And finally, combining with their hunger, they had a motivation to do so.

In front of them, in the main room, there were five chairs prepared around a table filled with food of all sorts. Hamburgers, French Fries, Pizza, Pasta, Ham, Turkey, Pie, Cake, and so much more. ANything and everything they could possibly want and more. The two of them immediately rushed to the table and took their seats, just remembering their manners enough to give thanks for the food, before they dug in. And the Digimon, hungry as they were, also began to dig in, mesmerized by their first proper meal in the past few days. So much so that they mostly forgot the use of utencils.

"Onnomnom...this is so good!"

"This is great...nomnom...and we get to take some of this to go as well!"

"Omnomnom...A grand feast!"

"Yummy!"

"You guys really were hungry..."

The only one who was not famished was Patamon, who generally could get by on mainly berries alone. However, Dorumon and Gabumon, even as Rookies, required more sustinance then that, and the humans did as well.

And once they were finally done gorging themselves, the group was full of extreme bliss. It was at that time that Witchmon re-appeared.

"You look very happy. Iv used my magic to put your clothes in the wash, but you are still fairly covered in dirt yourselves. You can use my bathtub upstairs, but its not quite big enough for all of you, so how about the humans first, and the Digimon after, okay?"

"Sure! Thanks again!" Yuyan said, as he and Kobayashi got up and headed upstairs. Once they made it into the bathroom, the two of them finished taking off the rest of their clothes and they both slipped into the bath.

"Ahhh...she really knows how to set it to the right temperature..."

"Yeah...this is perfect for three people..."

"Agreed...wait, three?"

Yuyan looked back at Kobayashi as he said something strange.

"Ah, yeah. Its still hazy, but I remember that me and two childhood friends of mine often took baths together, and also played, ate, and slept at each other's houses together since we were little...we got a nickname as a result".

"Let me guess...the Three Musketeers?"

Yuyan said that as he started to wash Kobayashi's back.

"Ah, yeah! That sounds right. My memory is still hazy though, but it sounds right...how did you guess that though?"

"It was a popular fairy tale, if I remember correctly...alright, you do me now real quick".

Yuyan and Kobayashi turned around, and he started to wash Yuyan's back.

"I suppose. Anyways, I guess this sort of reminded me of it. Maybe because we already became good friends so quickly?"

"Well, we did share tears together and have been through a lot. Still though, it feels like we have taken baths a lot..."

"Probably because nothing else has happened yet, even though the tension has been high since we were looking out for it".

"Also because nature is dirty. I miss the city".

Kobayashi agreed with that, as he turned a bit red.

"I do too. If Izumi was here..."

"Yeah...hey, you are turning red. Don't tell me your getting embarrassed now right?"

"What? No, its just the water was hotter then I expected. Too bad my friend Izumi isn't here, then we would be unstoppable..."

"...Izumi? And hey, wait...it is getting hot!"

Yuyan noticed the same thing Kobayashi did, the temperature of the water was increasing. That was not something that usually happened when you stopped pouring hot water into the bath. The two of them tried to stand up, but suddenly chains and shackles appeared around their wrists which forced them to stay seated in the water. Kobayashi quickly reached out with his leg though, and at least managed to grab their digivices by the straps with his toes and tossed them towards them. At the same time he finished, the bathtub then began lowering down from the second floor to the first, where they saw Dorumon, Gabumon, and Patamon all in cages and severely injured, while Witchmon just gave them a wink.

"Its okay, you can say it".

"You tricked us!"

"Well that was your own fault, thinking that whether something was a Vaccine, Data, or Virus type determined their attribute and alignment. And I mean, it was not like the trap was that hidden".

"...I think I remember now...this is just like that fairy tale about Hansel and Grettel..."

"...and we fell right for it. Welp, I am never insulting their intelligence for falling for that ever again. Hunger is a powerful blocker".

"Indeed. And with three scrumptious humans, I should be well and able to gain enough data to not just be able to enter other worlds like the human world, but also to Digivolve!"

"Wait, what?"

"Oho. No one ever told you? Humans contain special Digicode in their DNA, enough that those who take it can get all sorts of unique and powerful Digivolutions".

"No, we meant what about the three scrumptious humans part. There are only two of us".

"Oh, I actually captured another human some time ago..." she said, waving her staff. Suddenly, another boy wearing nothing but shackles like them that kept their arms trapped behind their backs appeared next to her, with black hair and black eyes. She then snapped her fingers, and the bathtub suddenly turned into a cauldron with an arm, that grabbed the boy and put him in with them.

However, upon seeing him, and upon him joining them and getting a close up look at them, he realized something.

"Yuyan? Kobayashi?"

"Izumi?! Wait, you know him?! Wait...what..."

At that point, a flood of memories came and flooded the minds of Yuyan and Kobayashi...who remembered each other. Remembered that they knew each other. The three of them, always in the same class. Living in the same area. Eating together, bathing together, sleeping together, eating together. They remembered so much and more. They remembered they were the shortest boys in class, so they ended up teaming up, and becoming known as more then just runts or shorties, but as the Three Musketeers.

"...I remember now..."

"...I do too..."

And so, the two recovered some of the memories stolen from them.

"...so you two lost memories also? I would love to talk about that more in detail, and remind each other of more things, but...we are currently getting cooked alive..."

Indeed, the witch was using magic to add carrots and other vegtables to the pot.

"Our Digimon are too wounded. We have our Digivices, but even if they digivolved I am not sure what they could do..."

"Wait, what about that then?"

At those words, Kobayashi remembered what Yuyan meant. And also he felt the urgency as the water was starting to get so hot it was beginning to boil.

"Ha! There is no Digivolution you can do that would make them able to defeat me in their current states!"

"Not according to this one!" Yuyan said, as he rolled to his side and picked up his Digivice hidden in the cauldron at the bottom. At first, he realized he couldn't actually trigger the Digivolution in these shackles, but then as if responding to his will, the Digivice emitted some sort of pulse that unlocked the shackles around their arms. But right when he stood up and activated his Digivice...

"You have one unread notification. A Digivice similar to your own has been detected nearby. If you want to get notifications real time in the future, do not shut off your Digivice".

"Okay okay I get it! Now!"

Yuyan jumped out of the pot with Kobayashi and Izumi, and he and Kobayashi held their Digivices in their right hands and they thrusted them forward and straight.

"Now, let's do this! Execute...!"

And then they pulled the Digivice back till it was facing sideways, and used their other arm to move their thumb across the scanner and seemed to drag out barcode as they swept the arm all the way to the left.

"Syncro Digivolution!"

And then, moving with what they felt was right, they slammed that thumb right into the center of their bare chests, and the code went inside them through that connection! And then, the two of them were covered by a dome of code, but this time not their Digimon.

Inside the Data Domes, they seemed to float forward through empty space with their bellies facing down as three rings floated until they were around them, though with plenty of space. One around the ankle area, one around the waist, and one around the neck. And then, an outline of Dorumon could be seen as well, overlapping Yuyan for a moment before altering itself to match Yuyan's size and body type. As for Kobayashi, it was identical except it was an outline of Gabumon that seemed to overlap and fuse with him.

[Yuyan Syncro Digivolves to...DoruYuyanmon!]

[Kobayashi Syncro Digivolves to...KobaGabumon!]

And so the traits turned into weapons, armor, and other appearance related things on their bodies. It used, or would normally, use the clothing they were using as a base. However, since it couldn't do nothing, the two of them ended up wearing boots that looked like Dorumon's and Gabumon's feet, respectively, and loincloths that had tails attached at the en...

"Those tails...are wagging...they are not fake tails attached..."

No, scratch that. They are real tails, attached to them physically. And finally, they both had animal ears. Yuyan had Dorumon styled ears, and Kobayashi had Gabumon styled ears. Izumi didn't want to say it, but before in the real world they were already boys considered so cute and adorable due to their size, statue, and faces that they were adored, but this would make at least some of them go even more crazy.

And as for weapons, Kobayashi had claw like gauntlets, while Yuyan had normal Dorumon styled gauntlets but was holding two claw styled dual daggers...as well as a handgun? Well, it didn't look like a normal handgun...and it was way too big...

"What?! Human Digivolution?! This must mean...your data will be even more tasty and beneficial!"

"Izumi! Where is your Digivice!?"

"She stored it in the back room with my clothes and stuff...I will go get it!"

"Alright! We will defeat her!"

The two said that, as Kobayashi ran in for a frontal assault.

"You think your new dancy outfits make you a match for me?! Ha, I wont go down that easily! Baluluna Gale!"

She shot several wind attacks at them, but Kobayashi dodged them all and then got right next to her. She tried to block with her staff, but Kobayashi got a good clean punch in. However, she then disappeared and reappeared across the room, firing off another magic attack...until she was forced to stop and brace as Yuyan appeared now and came to attack her from the side.

"Tsk! You damned brat!"

"You made a mistake earlier!"

Those words caught Witchmon off guard, and let Yuyan land several more blows before she was able to retreat further.

"What do you mean?! You fell for my plan perfectly!"

"But your actions still revealed to us, at the very beginning when we first met even..."

But with her focus on Yuyan, she realzied she Kobayashi had gotten out of her sight. The boy appeared next to her, and landed a powerful kick to her side right as the Boost Glyph appeared on it.

"...that you specialize in long range combat, not short range!"

When they first met, she had been flying up overhead, well out of melee range, and used only ranged attacks. And this whole time, she opted to use deciet to defeat them rather then a frontal attack. Which meant, she probably did not want to engange in a close range fight as much as she could help it.

And surely enough, within the confined space of this house, Yuyan and Kobayashi made use of their small sizes to their advantage, ducking and dodging around Witchmon and hitting her from all over.

"Well then, I suppose I will just have to power myself up!" she announced, and she threw some sort of large needle towards Patamon's cage. Suddenly, the injured Patamon moaned in even greater pain, and seemed to almost fade a little, as the data was transfered from him to Witchmon.

"Patamon!"

"Damnit! We have to stop her, now!"

The two were enraged by this, and Yuyan went for a full boost on himself as he rushed in. He suddenly accelerated like crazy, moving around to the back of Witchmon and delivered a powerful and sharp kick to her head. Kobayashi joined up with this, and delivered a gauntlet enhanced punch into her stomach at the same time from the opposite side, allowing the forces to combine with each other to inflict additional damage. Enough that she was turned into data, and absorbed into their Digivices, almost instantly.

However, the two did not evne have the time to de-digivolve and conserve energy, as they ran over to the cages and broke them open. Although Witchmon was defeated, Patamon was leaking data, much like a person would lose blood. Although in this case, as Patamon lost data, it reverted back to its In-Training form.

"Hang on Patamon!"

At this point Izumi returned in a hurry. He was carrying a variety of things including his Digivice, and also their clothes.

Yuyan made a mental note that she did clean them at least, but that was not the important thing at the moment.

"Its Patamon! He reverted...I think he is dying!"

"Damnit! There has to be something we can do!"

"...yeah...this really is bad...you both are idiots. If I die, you will just wander around and get yourselves killed..."

"Haa...so these two give you trouble too? Sorry about that".

"No problem...I suppose at least they have you now...huh?"

Suddenly, Izumi's Digivice began to glow, and the data leaking out of Patamon began to be sucked up by it as it spoke.

"DigiBond Available. Would you and Patamon like to establish a Digi-Bond?"

The Digivice said that, but they all understood what it really meant. The Digivice was offering a way to save Patamon, and also provide a partner to Izumi who had no partner yet.

Izumi and Patamon looked at each other, and they understood already they had a high compatibility.

"Yes!" they both said in unison. Suddenly, Patamon began to glow and be surrounded by a sphere of data, before returning to his original Patamon form, fully healed and no longer leaking data.

At that image though, Dorumon looked enviously.

"How come I was not fully healed when we made our bond?"

"Maybe it was because Patamon was already originally at Rookie level, while you were always at In-Training Level?"

"...hmmm. Also, you look good in that".

At those words, Yuyan and Kobayashi looked down...and realized how embarrassing their look currently was. Of course, because Yuyan's appearance was stylized on Dorumon, he thought it looked great. Same with Gabumon for Kobayashi. The two immediately grabbed all their clothes, and turned it off before immediately getting dressed again.

At the very least, the house, including the food and supplies, were real, so in a way it ended in a way where Witchmon actually told them the truth. They were able to have a nice long sleep, eat lots of food, take a bath, and get supplies for the road. Everyone, except Patamon who was too small for it, got a backpack, and they loaded themselves up with as much food and supplies as they could, and after a good night's rest, finally hit the road once more.

* * *

"There are three now. And their teamwork...holds great potential..." a shadowy observer said as it watched them leave.

"I will need to inform the others about it, and get word to the king. The Grand Plan must not be interrupted, even by these few...they are far too dangerous and unknown..."

And so, the shadowy observer disappeared once more, before anyone could even hope to notice it.

* * *

Author's Note: So originally, I planned to go with a different idea and plot for this, but when I realized just how much I could spin this like the Hanzel and Gretel Fairy Tale, I could not help myself. Hope you all enjoyed, and a question for all the readers who have gotten this far!

Question: So far, which has been your favorite Digivolution style in general, DNA Burst Digivolution, or Syncro Digivolution?

* * *

DigiData: DNA Burst Digivolution

A new and experimental form of Digivolution, it combines features from many types of different Digivolutions. It features the power of Biomerge Digivolution to combine human and Digimon, just on a smaller scale for the human. It utilizes the raw power of Burst Digivolution to help burst open the DNA of the human and extract the powerful Digicode within, which Biomerge then uses to convert it to a way it can be used as data. Then, to fuse it into the form of the Digimon completely on the proper scale, it uses DNA Digivolution, only instead of two Digimon, it uses the sample extracted and refined by Burst and BIomerge features and fuses it with the partner Digimon, finishing the process and causing them to use that extra DNA to enhance their forms to something greater, adding new tactical options and powers.

Notably, as Gabumon recieved psychic powers from DNA Burst Digivolution, how that DNA gets implimented can be a variety of ways. Although notably, Kobayashi's Remote is essentially the psionic power of Telekinesis, so perhaps Kobayashi has some sort of psionic abilities, latent or otherwise?

* * *

DigiData: Syncro Digivolution

This new and experimental form of Digivolution is in a way, a bit of the reverse of DNA Burst Digivolution. In this case, it was created from Spirit Digivolution (From Frontier), and DNA Digivolution, this time causing the Spirit Digivolution to fully turn a human into a Digimon, and only instead of using a Digimon Spirit, they combine them with DNA Data stored on their Digivice from their partner Digimon.

It Syncronizes them with that data, combining them together into a combatant of their own. Notably, DigiPowers can still be used while in this state, and so can other Digivolutions. Interestingly enough, it wasn't the exposure at all that Yuyan and Kobayashi got embarrassed about, as it was only close friends and Digimon there. What gave htem the shock was the animal ears and tail, which when they realized, made them think of all sorts of things that got them embarrassed.

By the way, has anyone ever noticed that DigiDestined, or anyone with a Digimon Partner, seems to have terrible luck? It just makes you feel bad for those three, dont you?

* * *

Special Thanks to: DragonEmperor999 for being the first to leave some reviews!


	5. Chapter 5: Firewall City

Chapter 5: Firewall City

"M'Lady" a voice called out as it entered, the origin of which could not be seen in the dark room full of monitors, and a single occupied chair that faced them.

"Yes?" the female voice said, typing on the monitors once more. "What is it?"

"It is about the project. We have confirmed that three of them, Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi, are heading towards Firewall City as we speak".

"I see. Has each of them found a Digimon Partner yet?"

"Yes. Furthermore, we have confirmed that new Digivolutions have already been created, thanks to our actions".

At this time, the monitors changed, and showed Yuyan and Kobayashi using both DNA Burst and Syncro Digivolution.

"Interesting. So this was the answer they created. It wont be long then, till they unlock seals and gain even more power...however, I suppose it would be in bad taste if we left it like this wouldn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, so far all the protagonists are boys. We need to mix it up a little..." she said, then pausing a bit of the video footage they had on them, mainly the various emotions they showed. From happiness, to determination, to embarassment, to confusion, to anger. And then of all their bodies. "We need a female".

"You know, they would have choice words if they knew you had all those images, specifically those images, of them up".

"Well, I think given the circumstances, and from what I learned of human culture, I have a right to. Now, tell me, are there any others available?"

"Plenty, Ma'am. But, Ma'am...their memories have begun to return".

"Then we must hurry, before they remember everything. Before they know The Truth. Before time runs out. We need to distract them. The question is, do we continue to target their shyness, their embarrassment, or maybe...perhaps it is time to target their fear. Speaking of which, bring me Witchmon's Egg. I want to investigate something. And, lets go with fear, they might get suspicious if we go at the same path".

"I understand, but perhaps before fear...there is something else we should do..."

The voice then sent the woman a file, and once she looked at it, her shadowed figure nodded.

"Yes, do that. I want this to be interesting after all. Now, get me the files on the Candidates".

* * *

"So, our memories...the damage must be further then we thought..."

Kobayashi said that as the three humans and three Digimon continued down the road.

With the meeting of Izumi, and the realization and then re-activation of some of their memories, back when they faced Witchmon, the group was now starting to understand the full extent of their memory loss. It was more then just their arrival here, or a few weeks. Yuyan and Kobayashi's memories had been wiped of each other, though not of Izumi, who remembered the both of them thankfully. BUt it was still a grave revelation, that the three of them knew each other, that they were childhood friends, but even that could be taken away.

"Well, you clearly didn't forget completely. After all, if the two of you were strangers, would you have really so easily decided to take a bath together? Although...I am a bit offended you left me out of it!"

At those words, Izumi playfully began hitting his two friends.

"Hey hey, Izumi! We didn't even know you were here with us!"

"Yeah! You can take a bath with us next time okay?"

Those words got him to stop, at least for now. With their bellies full, the group was making a lot more progress then when they were hungry.

"Fine fine. But still, you two seem to have kept a lot of memories. Such as our love of hot springs also, and..."

"Well of course!

"We would never forget the glory that is hotsprings!"

"It is where we met each other for the first time!"

The two of them replied like that, and Yuyan and Kobayashi even said the last part in unison.

"Haha. See? YOur memories are not quite gone, just...sealed, it seems".

"What about you though? You dont seem to have forgotten anything, except for how we got here...unless, you do remember?!"

"No, no, sadly I don't. And there are other things I dont remember, like waking up. Clearly I did though, or I would be barefoot and in my pyjammas right now. Last thing I remember is falling asleep at Yuyan's place with him and you, Kobayashi. Which means, I am missing the past several days before we came here, because we are all dressed in warm weather clothes".

"Ah, right...I vaguely remember that. It was during that freak cold snowstorm, that weather anomaly they called it. So we all slept in our sleeping clothes like what we do when its the colder months, and not the super hot months it was usually".

"Yeah. No way it could still be around that day if you two are dressed like that".

"Yuyan needs his AC fixed".

"Hey! At least my house has AC! And is not a furnace like it at Kobayashi's house...or here, for that matter".

They had been walking for awhile now, but the group could suddenly feel a massive difference in temperature starting to occur the more they walked. In specific, a massive heat spike.

"What the...what is this?"

"This feels like the pot all over again..."

"Damnit...we finally got into a situation where we were clean and clothed, why is this happening now?"

"Ah, probably means we are close to Firewall City".

At that name, Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi all gulped.

"Please dont tell me..."

"Yep! Firewall City is protected by a massive wall of fire!"

"Well, at least that means we are getting close. We can just endure...huh, where is Dorumon and Gabumon?"

The four of them looked around, but Dorumon and Gabumon had mysteriously vanished.

"...I think I know. Hey! You Two! Keep in mind if the walls are made of fire, they probably have some super advanced cooling system! You shave off your fur, you will freeze inside the city!"

"C-coming!"

"GOt it!"

"...riiiight. Forgot about that".

"Anyways, the memory loss gets a bit worse then that...first off, let me ask you all something. What are any of our last names? Or the last names of our parents, or relatives, or teachers, or classmates? What school did we go to? House addresses? Phone numbers?"

At those words, Yuyan and Kobayashi felt a chill run down their spines. They searched their memories, but...there was almost nothing.

"I...I remember our school name. We were students of Yunto Elementry...it was named after the founder, who was a tech genius, and always made sure the school had access to the most advanced technology that could help us learn. It was part of a trio, with there also being a Yunto Middle, and Yunto High. There were a lot of tech and coding based classes".

"Oh, so you remember that? It looks like our memory loss was all random then, if we all remember different things. What about you Kobayashi?"

"...I remember the smell of your mother's bread..."

At those words, it was Izumi who froze this time. It looked like he was getting a headache, similar to when Yuyan and Kobayashi recovered memories.

"Sorry. I wasn't sure if that was a memory that applied".

"It...it did. Thanks. I had forgotten she was a baker actually. That was...thank you".

"Are you okay Izumi?"

"Yeah...I take it you both remember?"

The two nodded, with sorrowful faces.

"There are some memories that are just too hard to take away. Maybe thats how we both remembered you".

"...and why I remembered the both of you. You came with me to the funeral, squeezed my hands. You were both there for me, I could never forgot that".

"Its like we said. We will always be there for each other. Now come on, if we take too long our families will really worry".

And so, the group finally arrived at Firewall City. As explained before, it was protected not only by city walls, but walls made of flame that gave off enourmous amounts of heat. And patrolling them were loads and loads of Meramon, a few BlueMeramon, and Volcanomon. And that was just what they could see.

"This place is heavy defended against antagonistic Digimon, but it also means they will do a thorough security check".

"What kind of security check?"

Kobayashi asked that as they finally approached the gates.

"Making sure we dont bring in any illegal data and objects, running our data signatures against the Criminal Datasignature Database, fully body searches, interior body searches, severe questioning. Stuff like that".

Although there were many points of concern for them, one thing stood out way more then the others.

"What do you mean Interior Body Searching?!"

Before the answer could be given though, they were suddenly surrounded by those guarding the gate.

"You six! Where have you come from! You dont look like you are from around here!"

"The Goblimon attacked us and chased us in this direction! Please, we only just arrived here a few days ago and we are looking for a way home!"

It was Kobayashi who went forth, wide eyed and teary, and pleaded with the authorities. One might think it was an act, and maybe part of it was...but this was also a bit of him naturally. Also it was the truth. Goblimon had been chasing them ever since Yuyan escaped, but they had been rushing to stay ahead of the main force.

Patamon just shook his head. "There is no way that would..."

"The one in charge is blushing already".

"What?!"

The BlueMeramon in front looked at Kobayashi and his pleading, looked at the others, and then...

"Ah, these humans are not the one we are looking out for anyways. Still, we need to...question them a bit...bring them inside!"

And so, the group was allowed entrance into the city, bypassing all the security protocols...at least for now.

 _Wait, did she say there was another human here?_

* * *

"...well this is a surprise...maybe..."

Yuyan said that as he sat in an interrogation room, shackled to the table. Again.

"Hey, I think they are being pretty nice right? They didn't take your clothes".

"I suppose that is true...wait, why would they do that?"

"Because unlike Goblimon and such, whose clothes are a part of their forms, yours are not, and could therefore have secret code hidden inside that would let you break out".

"That is not a thi..."

"Its happened before".

Yuyan made a shocked expression as he looked towards Dorumon.

"What?!"

"Yeah, a human once entered the Digital World and commited a bunch of crimes, both against laws and against nature itself. Even though they were human, they absorbed the code of Digimon, and became something like a monster. Sometime in the middle, they managed to catch him, but it turned out his jacket was coded to explode into a dangerous virus on command, and he infected the entire police station and all Digimon, and even a few humans, that were inside it before he escaped. Well, eventually they did track him down and defeated him, but as a result they would do stuff like that if they considered you dangerous".

Yuyan looked down at his feet, which were also shackled together in one big lock and then chained to the floor, and were also bare.

"Then why did they take my shoes and socks?"

"Ah. That was to examine them for trace data that would have been picked up as you walked across the Digital World, to try and get some idea where you might have been".

His question was answered by a Digimon that walked in, who came and took a seat directly across from him.

"Although admittedly, I am curious about the true form of a human boy. Curious about why they feel the need to hide it with excess things".

"Its a cultural thing. A long story. Who are you?"

"I am Taomon" the Digimon explained, looking at Yuyan with interested eyes. "And you, you are quite interesting. To arrive here at the same time as so many others, to be around in this current situation. Quite interesting".

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Well, long ago, the Human World and the Digital World were two seperate things. They operated on different rules, and while similar, there were just enough differences to keep them seperate. Then, one day, something was created which allowed people to traverse through the boundary. Technically, it was always possible, just rare and extremely difficult. But after what you call "The Internet" was created, something that's existence was right inbetween the Human and Digital World, it began to get easier and easier as time passed, until WiFi was created and it became very simple. And so for awhile, there were many who frequently traveled between the two worlds, although for some reason it was easiest for children to, maybe because they adapted better? Or maybe because human children are more flexible. However, until recently, something has happened...travel between worlds has gotten much harder. Used to be you could use any old terminal and console, but now...it seems very few places, such as Access City, have a chance to successfully connect. But at the same time, especially in the past few days, human children have appeared randomly and with fragmented memories. Some have been nice and law abiding, while others have been causing all sorts of trouble. Like that hacker that has been causing trouble around the city".

"So...there were others like us..."

"Yeah, maybe. Although I must say, you seem rather interesting..." she said, moving over to Yuyan's side and messing with his body in various ways, testing it and feeling it. "I am also a researcher you see, and one of my areas of study is humans. You are such mysterious creatures after all, having all that power yet being unable to use it fully. You seem different then the others though, you and your friends...I am not sure what it is, but I know something is out of the norm. And also..."

She then grabbed his Digivice, and held it in front of them.

"I have never seen a Digivice like this before. Normally, there are only a few variations of Digivice...but a new one has not been heard of in some time..."

"Well, I dont know where it came from if that is what you are asking. It was with me when I woke up".

"Hmmm...strange. Never heard of something like that before...all Digivices always appear in some way, some significance. Even if its just falling out of the sky, or transforming from something else...but they dont just appear. Are you sure about that? Any details in specific?"

Yuyan just shook his head, which resulted in a sigh from Taomon.

"I see...well, for now, it looks like you are in the clear...almost..."

"Almost?"

"Yes. You just have to pay the entrance tax for the city".

At that point, Yuyan froze up a bit. Taomon saw this, and made a wry smile and a spark lit in her eyes.

"I see...you don't have any money to pay the tax, do you?"

Yuyan shook his head, which resulted in Taomon taking out a clipboard.

"Well then, I suppose we will just have to find an alternative way to have you pay off your fee then. I must admit, if you helped me in my research on humans, I am sure I could pay all three of you quite well".

"Wh-what kind of research?" Yuyan asked nervously.

"Oh, just all kinds. Human culture, human trends, famous humans, human anatomy, stuff like that".

 _Why am I so damn unlucky?!_

Yuyan thought that for a moment, but before anything else could happen, the door was suddenly kicked open by another Digimon. And loyally doing one of its main jobs, the Digivice activated and identified it for Yuyan. "Etemon. Ultimate Level Virus Attribute Digimon of the Metal Empire Family. Puppet Type Digimon".

"Hold it right there, Taomon!"

Etemon then suddenly stormed up, while holding Yuyan's shoes and socks, and he gave them to Yuyan while standing next to him and glaring and Taomon.

"Etemon! What the hell are you doing here?! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Oh really now? Well I think I am needed here, so you dont falsely accuse or take advantage of these young boys".

"Oh! Oh really!? Coming from you, that is rich! All you do is take advantage of people!"

"Hey lady, I operate well within the law. Speaking of which, I do believe the city charter indicates that the police are forbidden to make people work for them in exchange for benefits or overlooks, which includes the entrance tax".

"Wh-what?! You know very well we are allowed to offer alternative means for them to pay that off for when they don't have money!"

"Yes, but not for private interests like your research" Etemon countered, which made Taomon click her tongue. "And besides, it would be immoral for me to let you force them into it, given your desire to date and have relationships with humans".

And from that, Taomon got extremely embarrassed.

"Wh-what?! That has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh does it? Because you were about to break a law after all. Anyways, I can put them to much better use...so I will be paying the money, making them owe a debt to me instead of the city. I have already cleared it with your superiors, that is so long as you accept. Want to join me and your friends in a place far better then this? I can even get you a bath, a change of clothes, and a nice warm meal".

"Oi, dont trust this mon! He cannot be trusted!"

"Better then being subjected to your whims! Besides, unlike her, I am giving you and your friends a choice. So, what do you say?"

Evaluating his options in that moment, Yuyan decided to go with Etemon in that moment...

Well, there was no good option anyways.

* * *

A shadow held its head in an alley, having spied on this whole encounter.

"Taomon...and Etemon...to think my quarry would get intercepted twice in the same day. I suppose...I will have to wait to carry out my orders for now...just observe and report for the time being. I cant risk upsetting either one of them after all..."

* * *

DigiData: Firewall City

A city in the Digital World that borders dangerous territory, they take security very seriously. They maintain strict border control, and its considered one of the few places in the region where one can cross from the dangerous territory occupied by Goblimon and such, into territory that is still dangerous, but not as dangerous. It is also known to have a wide variety of personalities and characters within it.

* * *

DigiData: HumanHearts Club

A club...or maybe more like an organization...filled with Digimon who are interested in humans, human culture, and things like that. There are all sorts of people with different levels and areas of interest, which can include general interest or about specific topics such as their food, music, and art. There are also many, many weirdos in it. Not a majority, but not that difficult to find.

Notably, Etemon has an interest in their businesses, and what is popular with humans.


	6. Chapter 6: Debt

Chapter 6: Debt

* * *

AN: Fun fact, keep watch over the comedic stuff...never know when a secret plot point or character detail or just something important might be slipped in. Also, we are meeting some important people now... :)

* * *

"You...you tricked us!"

"This is not what we agreed on!"

"This is not fair!"

"What do you mean? It is exactly as I told you".

After paying off their tax, and making them in debt to Etemon, the trio soon learned just what Taomon meant when she said they could not trust Etemon. Of course, it was too late now, but still...

Etemon brought them to this one place, apparently it was a business he owned, where they could work off their debt. After that, he had a large amount of Floramon workers swarm the three of them. For what felt like a recurring joke that has happened far too much lately, they forced them out of their clothes, brought them into the back, and bathed them with a large variety of shampoos and soaps. And being forcibly bathed by a bunch of female Digimon was indeed still very embarrassing, especially since the soaps and shampoos had these aromatic smells to them.

But all of this was shown to be a part of the process since, after they were done and dried off, the Floramon dressed them...in maid outfits.

As for Dorumon, Gabumon, and Patamon, they were wearing tuxedos, tophats, and bowties. Or at least, Digimon versions of them. Since none of them were humanoid shaped, it was only the top part of the tuxedo.

Needless to say, no one was happy.

"Why are we dressed as maids though?!"

"Well, I heard about this one thing that is extremely popular in the human world called a 'Maid Cafe', so I figured that if it was popular there, it could be popular here! Besides, until your debt is paid off, I will be holding your clothes as collatoral. You dont have anything else to hold as collatoral, since it is against the law to hold Digivices as collatoral".

When they heard that, the three of them protested louder.

"So that was what this was all about?! At least give us our underwear back!"

"Nope, part of the collatoral. Now, do your best to make an effort into earning that money. Tomorrow is opening day, and if you do not provide a minimum level of effort and performance, it will be added to your debt! You will find there is a room prepared for you all upstairs!"

With those words, Etemon waved at them and ran off, leaving the six of them fuming.

"We got played, didn't we?"

"We did. We should have gone with Taomon".

"He was a virus type...I guess evil can take several different forms".

One of the Floramon came up to try and console them.

"Look at it this way, you human girls look adorable in these".

"...we are boys".

At those words, the Floramon made a look of shock.

"Eh?"

"Yeah".

The Floramon bent down to look under and...

"Hey!"

"Sorry. I heard if you did that though, you could check to see and..."

"That is personal! And where did you get these maid outfits?"

"They were recreated from a magazine that was left behind from someone from the human world. We re-created it from that...we didn't know there was something else to go with it though..."

"That damned Etemon...hey, how did he have these three all ready for us anyways?"

"Well, there are some other humans around, though he said there were three he had his eyes on for some time..."

"You see, Etemon operates entirely within legal bounds, but he is actually a very shrewd and almost malicously manipulative businessman. Most likely, he intends to trap you in some form of perpetual debt like we are, with a high but still legal interest".

"Technically, if you pay off your debt you can be free of him, but its not easy. You will be charged for food, water, living expenses, rent, and things like that".

"...we really did get played".

"...damnit, we don't have time for this".

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain mon watched all of this from the shadows.

"Oh no, oh no...she is going to kill me if she finds out this happened...this is absolutely far from the plan..."

He was panicked because in this current situation, none of his master's goals would ever come to fruition. He had to find something or another to get things back on track. He was supposed to make them feel fear, but who knows what that could result in given the current situation. After all, out of all the candidates they had chosen, these three held some of the highest promise for their plans.

It was a really serious issue, and he did not want to be blamed for them getting stuck because of a sneaky Etemon. So for now, he decided to observe the situation some more, and work out a plan that would prove he was not incompetent for letting this happen. Maybe find some dirt on Etemon?

"Well now...maybe we can help each other out..." a female voice spoke to him from behind, sending a shiver down his spine. "Since from what it sounds like, you don't really have a choice right?"

* * *

The next day, and the cafe was already open for business. Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi were not very happy about the situation, but if they didn't work, they would litterally be stuck there forever. And what made it worse...

"These clothes feel really stuffy..."

"...how do humans wear these things..."

"And you wear this with more stuff too?"

The three beast Digimon were getting further confused about humans, although to be fair, the ones with fur probably had valid reasosn for complaining. After all, humans dont have fur, and those two did, so it only made sense they would be hot and stuff in clothes.

Although, the picture of Dorumon, Gabumon, and Patamon wearing Tuxes modified to fit them gave the three boys enough of a laugh to help them get through this. At the moment, the three of them were waiting tables, tending to the morning crowd that got curious and decided to attend.

And as Yuyan approached one table...he came across something he did not expect.

Two humans and two digimon were sitting at one of the tables, one was still looking over the menu, while the other was reading what appeared to be a newspaper and working on something, maybe a crosswords puzzle. The two looked younger then them, but more amazingly, they looked exactly identical. The only difference was that one had let her hair down, and the other had it in a short ponytail. Additionally, their attire was different also. The one with the ponytail was wearing glasses, while the one with their hair down was not. They were not those thick glasses either, but rather medium to thin glasses. Additionally, the one with the pony tail was wearing a white sleeveless jacket and red T shirt, along with white shorts, while the one with her hair down was wearing a long white skirt, an identical white sleeveless jacket, and a blue T shirt. They both had the same sporty looking black sneakers though, their hair was both green, and their eyes were both blue. They were also the same height, and the same build it seemed.

As for their Digimon, that was where it got interesting. According to Yuyan's Digivice, which alerted him every single time he encountered a new Digimon some data about it, one was Coronamon, a Rookie Level Beast Type of the Vaccine Attribute, and Lunamon, A Rookie Level Mammal Type Digimon of the Data Attribute. From what he understood, it appeared one had attributes of the sun, and the other had attributes of the moon.

Identical twins with Digimon that were opposites. He wondered if there was something to that.

BUt more importantly, now humans were going to see Yuyan like this, which made him cry internally.

"Umm...hello?"

Yuyan tried to get their attention, but it looked like the two had deeply focused in on what they were currently looking at.

"Can you girls hear me?"

Once Yuyan said that, the one with a ponytail finally looked over at him.

"One, I am a boy. Two, I would think you of all people right now would be able to tell the difference. And three..." he listed out, and then took out a camera and took a photo, much to Yuyan's surprise and and embarrassment. "...that will be for later. Though, I really don't get why clothing is divided by gender. Seems silly to me".

"A lot of your human customs seem silly to me" the Coronamon mentioned.

"Well brother, human culture was raised in a world seperate to ours. Of course there will be differences".

"And admittedly, my brother was a bit more progressive with his ideas. Oh, wait, we are getting off topic. We should probably order some food".

"Yeah. Cant be helped though. Everything is new and interesting!" the boy said with a smile, and then looked at Yuyan. "Huh...well, anyways. Two double omelet scrambled, extra cheese and bacon. And some hash browns on the side of both..." he ordered, and then he and his sister looked at the Digimon.

"Same order for us too! Oh, and mixed fruit juice for everyone!"

"Ah, right! But also a coffee for me!"

At first Yuyan was shocked, but then he noticed their Digivices. They looked like different models from the ones they had, so they were probably under different circumstances. At the very least, unlike Yuyan's group, they clearly had money. Not only that, but they had their own bags and various other things. Also...it looked like the boy even had a sword?

And so Yuyan just nodded and decided to follow the order, not knowing what else to do, and also remembering they needed to earn money themselves.

"...huh. Sixteen letter word for a special twin partner technique...I should have this easy..."

Also, Yuyan temporarily wondered if that kid was even younger then him when he ordered coffee and was doing a crosswords puzzle.

* * *

After work was finally over for the day, Etemon himself had appeared to see how things went and determine the potential profit.

Surely enough, things had gone exactly as he hoped. He had heard that these "maid cafe" businesses were meant to have females running them, but that was the human world and this was the digital one, so he figured it would be fine. Especially since they didn't look that different as children anyways, from what he had learned.

And as expected from the first day, while they were not that stereotypical first day clutz, they couldn't do everything perfectly. A number of dishes got broken, not too many, but enough that he figured he could keep them in his employment for years at least. Even if they outgrew the cafe, there were other businesses to make them work in. Running papers and errands for his legal departments, scrubbing the bathrooms, maybe he could rent them out to scientists...or maybe even Taomon. That last one could be very fluid, but also a bit dangerous.

Either way, he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to make sure they stayed in his debt.

"Well then, I guess that was it. Seems like we had a good customer base".

"Yeah" one of the Floramon that was in charge of overseeing everything said. "We had all sorts come in! Knightmon, Terriermon, Lopmon, Gazimon, we even had some other human children!"

At those words, the gears in Etemon's brain moved as he heard that. If there were even more human children he could get into neverending debt with him, he could get the maid cafe and anything else he used them in to be even more productive.

"Really now? Did you get their names? Did they pay, or did they not have enough?"

"They paid, and they paid full despite the amount they ordered. I guess they have plenty of money. As for their names, we never heard them mention it, but the two humans seemed like siblings. We didn't see any sign of that one other human though, the one Taomon was after".

"...well, Taomon will go after any human to satisfy her intellectual desire about humans. Still, maybe there is a way. I suppose I will have to come and see tomorrow. Well, see you then".

Etemon said that, as he began plotting in his mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Etemon left, the Floramon went into the back alley behind the maid cafe.

"I...I did what you asked...he wont find out though right? There is a fine in our contracts where if we do stuff like..."

"Don't worry" the mysterious mon voice brom before said, as he walked into the light this time. He was a Ninjamon, and he handed her some DigiDollars. "He won't. We are not that oblivious...right?"

And from behind him, two more Digimon stepped into the light. One was Hackmon, a Digimon known for hacking and infiltration. And the other...was a human girl, around twelve years old, wearing a black long sleeve shirt, long black pants, black sneakers, and a black knit cap with a backpack on her back. And furthermore, she had the same type of Digivice and Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi.

"Yeah. You can count on us. After all, when it comes to beating the system, we are the best at it. Thats why I am known as Rula Sharp, Hacker Extraordinaire".

* * *

AN: Started off comedic, but well...now its getting really juicy. Gotta love that drama and sneakiness. Hope you guys are as eager as I am!

* * *

DigiData: Hackmon

Originally believed to have been created from Smartphone data that was used to hack into other devices, Hackmon shows a level of sneakiness and danger not found in most basic rookies. Although his original code allowed for different Digivolution, he has since adapted to use Digivolutions that other Digimon are capable of. His ability to hack and infiltrate are considered to be extremely problematic to all Digimon, although his ability to influence things can only go so far. However, despite the data he was created from, he is not always certain to be malicous or evil, and has been known to be on the side of good and appear as a Vaccine Attribute even, despite the fact he has virus like abilities.

* * *

DigiData: DigiDollars

DigiDollars, or DD, is the currency of the Digital World. It can be materialized as physical money, or digitized into easy to carry currency, although its more reliable to recieve it in physical form. In truth, DD was actually created from the idea of online currency, coins, and before that, the Digital World mainly relied on a barter system to get by.

It should be noted that it is extremely unusual for humans to have DD during their first few days or even weeks in the Digital World.


	7. Chapter 7: Contest

Chapter 7: Contest

And so, another day of work began to Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi, who had only managed to increase their debt after the first day. To them, the situation appeared as if it may never end, as they had fallen for Etemon's trap and were now stuck in a cycle of debt. They only had these damned maid outfits since they lacked anything aside from their clothes for Etemon to take as collatoral, though they did at least have their Digivices. Since apparently, there were laws against taking those from humans.

It felt like something was different about the cafe today though, but none of them could put their finger on it.

However, there were even more people here today then yesterday, including the twins.

"Ah, its you two again! Welcome!"

"Oh, your entrance voice has become way better!"

"Yeah yeah! You put more spirit into it this time!"

At that response, Kobayashi came over, looking still a bit embarrassed but also like he was having fun, twirling the skirt around as he arrived, but keeping it low to keep some decency.

"Well, we are kinda trapped like this for awhile, and we will get pay cuts if we keep moping around, so we decided to try and enjoy what we could of it instead. Plus, that energy is raising our tips and customer happiness, so by enjoying it as best we can, we will get out of debt faster".

"Ah. Sounds like a good idea. But, not sure if that boss guy of yours is just going to let that happen".

"Yeah...probably not...anyways, what would you like to eat?"

"Triple scrambled eggs, with bacon on the inside of them, with a side of hash browns for everyone. Also juice for everyone, but I also want a coffee, black and strong just like before".

"Alright, coming right up!"

And so, Yuyan went to place the order so their food would be ready. Otherwise, everything seemed to operate normally and as expected...

Or at least, that was how it seemed for a bit, until in the middle of the twin's meal with their Digimon, some bigger brutish Digimon came over and harassed them. "Hey, what the hell is this! We reserved this spot, yo!"

"Yo...?" Yuyan questioned, confused.

"How could they not keep our reservation yo? We gunna demand compensation".

Suddenly, the trio started to get a bad feeling, as if they knew what might happen...

"Now now, hold on" a familiar voice said, as Etemon out of nowhere. "I am sure we can come to some sort of peaceful agreement, cant we?"

Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi all realized what were about to happen, and tried to speak up, but...the choker part of the maid outfit seemed to tighten a bit, and magically none of them seemed able to speak.

 _What the...damnit! He thought that far ahead?! Also, the hell?!_

It appeared Etemon had plans within his plans, and as a result he was now going for even more fish.

"That said, the employees definently would mention that the seats were reserved, and that even...ah yes, look at this".

Suddenly, he seemed to raise some sort of sign that had been on the ground. No one seemed aware of it till now though, but it had a base that would not fall over on its own. And of course, on the top of the base was a shoeprint, about their size.

Yuyan knew this was clearly a setup, but when he tried to move, the maid outfit got heavy and felt as if it restricted him.

 _Damn you Etemon!_

At this point, some part of Yuyan's mind was convinced that Etemon was the final boss. The true enemy. The enemy of all mankind. Or, digikind in this case.

Behind Etemon, several Gazimon wearing business suits and sunglasses while holding suitcases seemed to arrive. Without a doubt, they were Etemon's army of lawyers...and different from the Gazimon that attacked them before. Probably, right? They seemed more tame then feral after all.

"Well now, I suppose there will just have to be a fee. Ah yes, a temporary one was set up that will be officially used for this case. 1 Million DigiDollars...the fee will obviously be cheaper, but as I did not know what to put in, that was the amount put in until the proper price could be calculated. But its legal, and cant be helped. But don't worry...if you cant pay now, I am sure we can work something out".

Etemon had made his move, and the young, impressionable, unknowing children...looked totally calm and not freaked out at all. The boy then spoke up, looking right into Etemon's eyes.

"Oh really now? Well there is an issue there, because according to the Firewall City Charter, such as Business Section 8, Clause 36B, incidates that Special Privledges must be announced, monitored, and maintained in advance. Not only when they are used, but when they are established, and can only be enforced a week after they have been first sent in to be officialized. And according to Section 13, Clause 44D, Reservations are counted as a Special Privilege. ANd of course, the illegal attempt to manipulate these things in order to extort money from your patrons is considered illegal due to the Anti-Extortion Act. So rather then us being in trouble, I do believe that you are the one in the wrong".

The moment he heard that, the Gazimon lawyers behind him started to investigate and look through their own books and papers, and their reactions gave it away. That boy had it right on the mark.

"Well hold on though, I submitted these forms well in advance, its just we only opened recently, just yesterday actually, so they would already be in effect".

"Oh, but dont you know, it would only be considered officially valid upon opening. Of course, there are exceptions for opening day events, but this is not your opening day. It was yesterday, as you said".

Once again, a counter. Etemon was being defeated in a verbal battle with a nine year old boy.

"Which means, this is considered against the law, and we can demand compensation".

"I dont know about that. I think we could tie this up into a rather nasty legal battle. Are you prepared to deal with such a thing?"

"Well, as the defendents, the burden of proof is on you, so its at your disadvantage".

The two leaned into each other, and sparks could be felt as neither looked away.

"Well then, perhaps there is a better way to handle this situation...a contest, perhaps?"

"A contest huh? I suppose that will be fine" the boy said, quickly putting out a document. "Winner gets their demand granted?"

Etemon then signed it as the competitive sparks heated up, as he clearly did not like being bested by a kid. "Fine then! Our demand is..."

"Oh, you already established yours. One million DigiDollars" he said with a smile, while Etemon made a sour face. "And of course, our demand is that you consider those three and their Digimon partner's debts paid in full and release them from debt servitude".

He said that, and then signed the document along with his sister in that instant. Once it was done, a shine appeared over the document, indicated it was finalized and in effect. And of course, that demand made Etemon realize immediately this was all part of a larger plan.

Someone had set a trap, and the bait had been perfectly prepared for him. And this did not make him happy, not at all.

"Fine then. Game on. However, the competition has to be fair you know".

"Yes. But as the defenders, we get to choose".

Etemon growled again, as they were right. Because Etemon was the one who initiated the whole thing in the beginning, they were indeed the defenders. He had been ready for many things, hence why he brought an army of lawyers, but this fell so far outside the realm of expectations it might as well have come from orbit.

"...fine then. What will you choose?" Etemon said, appearing down. But anyone who knew him could easily guess he had already started scheming.

The boy thought back to all the options. He looked back at his sister, who nodded and gave a smile, before deciding on the best solution. Or rather, the only solution that could fully limit Etemon's ability to cheat.

"Digimon Battle, entrees must be Rookie Level Digimon and sides must be equal. You lose if you go outside the battlefield, get knocked out, or are otherwise incapacitated for ten seconds".

"Fine then, I agree to those terms. We shall fight at the Grand Stadium in town in one hour to decide this".

"Very well. Also, a neutral party will be holding the collatoral for each side, including their belongings" the boy added with a smile. Etemon grumbled even more, especially when the "neutral party appeared.

"Yes, I will take care of everything" Taomon stated with a smile. "So, let the games begin".

* * *

The boy sat down in relief as he rested inside the stadium waiting room, along with his sister and their Digimon.

"Ruka" the girl mentioned, looking a bit worried. "Are you sure this was the right decision?"

"Relax Luka" the boy replied, giving her a smile. "This is all a part of the plan. Besides..."

The boy held up his Digivice, and then looked at hers.

"He wont be expected anything from this".

"Still, he is going to try and cheat you know. Twist something his way".

"Yeah. But we did not have the skills, connections, or such to pull off anything to counter that at the other events. A race? Guarenteed he would use shortcuts, get us obstructed, melt our sneakers to the road. Cook off? Maybe, but he has the connections to get a great chef to represent him that would trash us. Crossword puzzles? Admittedly, coulda aced it, but only if it was a language I knew and topics I knew of. The Digital World is different from ours after all, and who knows what would happen. But in this battle? Our trap was already set, and he will likely take the bait. I am sure he did not miss it. Which means, we just gotta pull off our big twist".

"Glad to see you have the spirit and energy for this" a female voice told them, as she stepped out of the shadows with Hackmon and Ninjamon. In the time before he had seen them though, and after they had appeared, his hand had moved to the sword he had with him.

"Nice reflexes. That said...are you sure you can pull it off? Granted, the model of a Digivice is only a minor thing really, but those are pretty out of date...and this will take some skill to pull off".

"Relax, I told you, we have a trick".

"Maybe, but Etemon is moving around some weird tech. Some sort of black metal, and Hackmon thought it might be some sort of disruption based thing".

"Thats fine. Besides, looks can be decieving. They will be underestimating us because we look so young".

"Very well. Our failsafe is in place to be safe. So, go out and wreck them with all your might".

"Got it!" they both replied in unison. Meanwhile, Rula just reaffirmed herself internally. _Yeah, they can do it. And it was a good idea to give them all the info Hackmon got so they could do this. Now, with the trap in place, they just need to defeat Etemon's goons._

* * *

Yuyan was not quite sure what to feel right now, as he sat down in a neutral viewing area with Taomon...who was petting his head.

She was there to keep him safe sure, and to prevent any betrayals, but...she was petting his head. He also was worried she wanted to disect him when she asked how many chambers the human heart had.

Yuyan and hte others were already sure there was some silent supporter in all this, and that this was all a set up for Etemon. That was obvious given the information they had ready, perfect counters for Etemon. What they didn't know was for what purpose were they doing this? Was it someone sympathetic, like another human? Or was it a Digimon? Was it the one who brought them here? He could not be sure at this point.

He was getting rather tired of that feeling though. Of being a pawn in someone else's game. Etemon had really put him over the edge now, or maybe it let his feelings come out now that he had a target for them.

Still though, those twins...he had to wonder, how were they so good at all this?

"And now, the Contest Battle between Ruka and Luka Tokota and Etemon shall now begin!"

His thoughts ended up getting shelved as the contest finally began. On one side, Ruka, Luka, Coronamon, and Lunamon came out. And on the other side...four Gazimon?!

"Two humans and two rookie level Digimon, against four Rookie level Digimon. An equal sides fight!"

 _This is equal?! Damnit, Etemon found a way to play it again!_

Yuyan shouted that in his mind, but when he looked towards the other side...

"Ohhh. What is this? Ruka has taken out what appears to be a katana sized for him, while Luka has taken out a dual sided dagger? Its extremely rare to see any humans enter the digital world with weapons! Especially children!"

Meanwhile, the Gazimon stepped forward...but something seemed different about them. At first, Yuyan was not sure, but when he took out his digivice to check...

"Alert: Detetion of Excess Boost Data and DigiOrganic steroids in their system. This combination is quite dangerous, but essentially makes those Rookie Level Digimon closer to Champion level".

"...so he used drugs? Uh oh...".

And this was made apparent was when Coronamon and Lunamon launched their long distance attacks, the Gazimon dealt with them using overwhelming power.

"Looks like you bit off more then you can chew!"

"To think someone thought they could go against Etemon, and a human no less".

"Maybe Etemon will sell their stuff! We should look for it in his stores!"

It seemed the crowd was getting rowdy.

Yuyan could only hope that those two somehow pulled through.

* * *

Ruka smiled as he checked his Digivice.

"Normal Digivolution is still unavailable to you. In addition, a Digivolution Jammer is in place".

"Right...between a rock and a hard place. Well then, I guess it is time huh?"

"What do you plan to do? It seems like this is it, and since you have not yet it seems like you cannot Digivolve either. You lack experience, skills, and decent equipment!"

Clearly, the one talking was paid off or something by Etemon to put dispair in them, to distract them and make them give up. But on the contrary, this was all according to the plan.

"Oh, I am sorry...do you mean these Digivices?"

Ruka and Luka held up their digivices...and then suddenly, something strange happened. Visually, they started to flicker as if they were holograms, and in their place...was the same model of Digivice that Yuyan and the others had.

Ninjamon, who was secretly watching from the sides after finally getting away from Rula and Hackmon, had his jaw drop.

"What...but...thats not possible! Only four of them were brought into the Digital World! Yuyan, Kobayashi, Izumi, Rula! I was monitoring it myself!"

In a panic, he took out a tablet, and looked over all the candidates. There were various images and profiles of people who were labeled "Not Active", with the exception of those four. He only paid attention to the active files, so it could not be helped he did not notice it. ANd sure enough, listed as "Not Active", Ruka and Luka Tokota.

Somehow, these two had slipped past them. And that meant Ninjamon was in some serious, serious trouble.

Of course, naturally everyone else was also surprised including Etemon, Yuyan, and such.

Ruka and Luka put their thumbs on the scanner part at the same time, and syncronized all their actions, body positions, and even breathing so that they were one hundred percent syncronized.

"Coronamon". "Lunamon".

And then, they slid their thumbs off in a fast motion and drew it back, identical to how Yuyan and the others did it. The code followed them just as well, like it was one stream or ribbon and was all connected.

"Execute! Dual Digivolution!"

And their next words took everyone by surprise, as a dome of code surrounded them. And yet, for all to see, the images of a sun and a moon appeared overhead, with glowing Digivolution Energy in the center. The two celestial objects orbited them, starting at a slow speed but accelerated, temporarily slowing down as a light flashed and lightning traveled inbetween the sun and the moon. And supercharging the Digivolution energy.

At the same time, the two put the tops of their Digivices together and connected them to secure the link and data transfer.

"Let the opposing powers of the sun and moon create the nexus of energy!"

And then, the Digivolution energy spiked, as Coronamon and Lunamon had beams of energy shoot down from above and hit them. DigiRings appeared around them, deconstructing them with this new energy and then reconstructing them as something new...something powerful. Although Ruka and Luka could not muster the energy to get them to Digivolve individually, if they used this method...used their connection as twins...both of their Digimon could digivolve at once, using the conflicting energies of Sun and Moon to amplify and create new energy from that conflict for both of them.

And so, the two that emerged were...

"Coronamon Dual Digivolves to...Firamon!"

"Lunamon Dual Digivolves to...Lekismon!"

And so the Digicode dispersed as two Champion Level Digimon stood proud in battle.

And at the same time, a Green Glyph appeared on Ruka's sword and Luka's dagger.

"Augment!"

And while Ruka's sword had lightning appear around it, Luka had fire appear around hers. And then, the two moved in fast and quick towards their targets. This caught the Gazimon by surprise, which temporarily took their attention away from the CHampion level Digimon...a costly mistake.

"Tear Arrow!"

"Fira Bomb!"

The two let out ranged attacks and hit two Gazimon clear through. One of the Gazimon tried to go at the humans, to also hope to use them as a shield so the Champion level Digimon did not try to attack them with any attacks, but the one that approached Ruka found himself drawing his hidden blade to defend against Ruka's katana.

"What the...you are strong?!"

"You know that thing, where Digimon can get stronger by absorbing even trace amounts of Digicode? Not just Digimon!"

"Gah?!"

It felt itself get pushed back despite bracing and digging its feet in the ground.

"Now you can feel the wraith of the Ruka School Style techniques!"

"This is self taught?!"

Two Gazimon engaged in a long range attack war, hoping to keep the champions busy while the other one went after Luka. Unlike her brother, she had nto talked as much, so they were sure she was weaker and would be easie...

"Hiya!"

They were wrong. It was a trap. Also, as she struck, she held no mercy towards the male Gazimon.

"...thats not...child friendly..."

"Shut up. Children are maturing way faster these days you know! And dont lump me in with my brother! We are just two different people, we can do stuff seperate and not only twin syncronization!"

Many wanted to comment that their Digivolution, their big event, was exactly that, but no one brought it up.

"He just likes to have that whole showcase dramatic bit. Very protagonist like I think".

The battle was not exactly going well for the Gazimon, as Ruka dueled with one but was clearly overtaking him. The only reason he was having trouble was because of all the drugs they had taken and the Databoost they recieved. But still, he was holding his own.

Meanwhile, Hackmon and Rula nodded as they watched.

"Well Hackmon?"

"The bets are coming in. As we expected, odds favored Etemon, so we are making a large profit. The twins too".

"The twins too? Can you bet on yourselves?"

"No rule against it. Besides, they were helping us with our plan, so it seemed right".

"...huh. Exactly, how much DD are we making?"

"You know that past stereotype we found when researching other DigiDestined, about how they never had money?"

"Yeah..."

"We wont have that issue".

"Well, thats good...I wonder how they got their money in the first place though...well, whatever. Once this is done, we all need to get out of town. Which means...we probably need to make a decision now...about what path to follow..."

And meanwhile, in the center, one Gazimon in specific also seemed to start glowing. Etemon had noticed that the rule only said they had to enter Rookie level Digimon, and there was nothing against Digivolving mid battle, so he had shut off a harmless little device he had put in to try and make it more even...in order to make it more even.

"Gazimon Digivolves to...BlackGarurumon!"

As this happened, it immediately launched an ice cannon, and meanwhile, someone played some very familiar music across all the speakers in the stadium. (Guess. Just guess. I will give you a hint. You do remember the original Digimon Adventurers series right?)

BlackGarurumon charged in to attack as well, and given its beefed up state, locked claws with Firamon. Lekismon meanwhile used the chance to flank it, and hit it to its side, causing it to sprawl while taking damage. And then, the two Digimon came around, and finally finished the fight as Ruka and Luka knocked out their own attackers. This left one final Gazimon...who tried to run away, but got blasted by the two champions all the same who clearly were not so forgiving.

"And...and...the winners are Ruka and Luka Tokota, and their Digimon partners!"

* * *

AN: Haha! Hope I managed to surprise some of you! Just so you know, this would have been in sooner, but I lost my progress part way through twice! Anyways, hope you enjoyed! But will they really be able to successfully escape Etemon's clutches? Is Ninjamon in serious trouble? Have I just become the anouncer guy at the end that asks all those sorts of questions? Find out next time on Digimon: Bonds!"

* * *

DigiData: Ruka and Luka Tokota

Identical twins (aside from being different genders they are perfectly identical, even in voice), the two of them are partnered with Coronamon and Lunamon, respectively. At first glance, they seem to be normal kids, but unlike what one might find on TV shows, they have a tendency to disregard stereotypes, proving to be complex despite their age. It should be noted that not much is known about them, as noted by their tendency to keep secrets (such as by disguising their Digivice models), and are very open minded.

Some believe that secretly, they switch places randomly to mess with people and see if they notice.

It seems like the two are familiar with fighting however, something that is rarely seen in DigiDestined.

* * *

DigiData: Kobayashi's Biodata

Hair: White, medium long

Eyes: Red, occasionally blue when using his ability.

Age: Almost 11

Height: 119cm

Scars: None.

Weight: 73 lbs.

Main Hand: Prefers right.

Allergies: None

Blood Type: A-


	8. Chapter 8: Unity

Chapter 8: Unity

"Ahhh...feels so good to be back in normal clothes".

"Agreed...thanks again".

"No more debt with Etemon~"

The five humans and five Digimon, Yuyan, Kobayashi, Izumi, Ruka, Luka, Dorumon, Gabumon, Patamon, Coronamon, and Lunamon were all gathered now, wearing their normal casual clothes again and giving a good stretch outside the arena.

However, the celebration was cut short by Ruka.

"We already have the supplies we might need for a long journey, so we should head out right now! Who knows what might happen if we stay here after all, things could get problematic, so we need to get clear of this place and head towards Access City. From what I heard, its the only place with a stable connection to our world, so getting to it should be our top priority!"

"Huh...you seem really mature for a kid your age".

At those words, Ruka got a bit red and a bit angry.

"What the hell does that mean?! Dont lump me in with the stereotypical young boy character who only whines and cant be useful!"

"Okay okay I get it I get it! But yeah, lets move before Etemon pulls any more stunts on us and gets us into trouble!"

"Hey, wait up for me!"

At this point, a female voice called out as someone jumped down to greet them.

"Name's Rula Sharp. Now, shall we depart?"

"Sharp? YOu remember your last name?"

"You don't? Thats bad. I am missing pieces and fragments sure, but I still know my own name".

"Can we leave the small talk until after we get out of the city?"

Little did they know just how right Ruka's worries were.

* * *

"What do you mean, two humans that shouldn't have arrived yet already arrived?!"

"It is exactly as it is, My Lady! No one brought them out, yet somehow they appeared! They appeared far before anyone else it seems, since we have confirmed sightings of them weeks before we brought out the four others! No one is sure how or why yet!"

"But...if that is the case, they might have their memories! They might know!"

"But Ma'am...they still have their sanity..."

"We cannot be sure! If they have their memories, they could ruin everything! They might know who we are even! Ninjamon, you must bring them here at once!"

"Of course, My..."

"But not yet. First, we need to keep them distracted while you prepare everything to capture them and bring them back. And so...hire the Legion of Fear to strike terror into their hearts".

Ninjamon looked over, as data on the Legion of Fear appeared. The Three Captains: NeoDevimon, Myotismon, and SkullSatamon. Led by the Commander: Daemon. Commanding large amounts of Digimon that instill fear and terror into everyone and everything, it can be safely said that they would be perfect for her task.

"Of course, should they decide to get rough with those humans and their Digimon...that would be fine as well. But bring me at least one of those twins. We must know what they know".

* * *

"There it is! Past that gate, and we are outside the city!" Ruka said as he led the charge. "It will be harder for anyone to find us out there!"

"What do you know that we don't?"

"Just trust my brother okay?! We really cant do anything right now!"

"Do we really need to run this fast?"

""Yes!""

As they said that, a booming thunder could be heard overhead. The skies began to darken, and clouds formed.

"What the hell did you two do?!"

At those words, the twins looked away as if they wanted to avoid the topic.

""""WHat the hell is this about?!""""

"Why do you think we were keeping our Digivices hidden?! Because we didn't know who brought us into this world, we have been hiding to avoid attention! This time it couldn't be helped, but we have been assuming the people who brought us here have been trying to monitor the situation at least! Or that maybe, the fact that no one explained anything meant someone else was after us! Because of that, we have been operating under the assumption that the moment we reveal ourselves they would strike!"

"And you just choose now to reveal that?!"

"Parts of that seem really strange!"

"Well I am nine! I think I get to sometimes be incohearant!"

"Yes...and as a little boy, you will surely have some wonderful nightmares!"

As they kept running, a dark voice could be heard, taunting Ruka.

"All of you, so weak...you will be simple prey for us hungry beasts".

And to make matters worse, wolves made of shadows with glowing red eyes came out of the alleys and side streets and came for them.

"Yuyan, the failure who wants to be a hero, who keeps getting knocked out and trapped day after day!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!"

And at the same time, he taunted them telepathically, inflicting psychological damage as he forced his thoughts, his will, into their minds.

"Kobayashi, who is too nervous to even be helpful, who cant even remember his own friend!"

"You jerk! Tell us who did this to us!" Kobayashi shouted defensively as a reply.

"Izumi, the weak, the unwilling to fight. Can you even fight? What will happen will you try? How much can smarts and cunning help you here? Or do you even have that, falling for Witchmon's trap so easily..."

"What the hell do you know?!"

"Ruka...so young, so unproven. Wanting your family's love, but never having it. No matter how hard you work...do they know your dark secrets? Do they know why you fight? Would they stay with you if they did?"

"Get the hell out of my head!"

"Luka...are you really someone who can shine and be helpful in this? Or will you hide in your brother's shadow? Are the twins truly equal? And what kind of name is Luka anyways?"

"Shut up, you moron! YOu know nothing about what we had to go through!"

"And finally, Rula...you proclaim to be so great, and yet you are running right now. Is it not obvious just how terrible...how unworthy...you are? YOu steal, hack, and lie to get what you want, because you are not good enough".

"You think I will listen to anything you have to say?!"

"What...do you think you can really fight me? When you are all so weak, so...terrible. You got tricked by Etemon. You will be hunted by the police! You are all failures! Rejects! Disgraces!"

And so, the first one to break...was Izumi.

"Stop insulting me and my friends, and get out of our heads!"

And as he shotued that, a purple Glyph appeared on his forehead...the Glyph of Thought. And with that, the voice that had been plauging them seemed to be forced away.

"Woah...nice one Izumi!"

"Well, that is something...but we still need to get out of the city!"

"Wont it be more dangerous if we leave the city!?"

"No! They will lose track of us if we do! They are not omnipotent after all, I think we proved that! Otherwise, they would have seen what we were doing right? So instead, just keep running!"

"How do you know so much!"

"My brother ran a lot of experiments!"

"What the hell does that mean?!"

As the gates came into sight, they saw some Digimon crouched down holding their heads in pain, others seemingly suffering from madness. A few had just passed out. And everything they saw in front of them, it felt like it had started to warp if ever so slightly. And the strain on Izumi also increased it seemed, keeping up his Thought on all of them.

Needless to say, Ruka's suggestion now seemed like a very good one. They had to get away from this before it got worse.

"Duck!"

Yuyan shouted that as a Knightmon swung its sword at them. The group was quick to react to Yuyan's shout, and had successfully ducked under, or flew over, the blade and kept running past it all.

However, right as they got to the gate, Izumi let out a pained groan, and then everything around them warped. The gate, the city, all seemed to disappear, and they were suddenly standing in the woods, surrounded by fire. Everything was burning, blistering, and otherwise was being destroyed around them. The heat swept across their faces and felt as if their skin was being flayed alive.

"You are too weak. You are too naive. This is what will happen, to both worlds, because the truth is that you are too weak to stop it! You have no power, no will, and you will fall just like all the others! And there is nothing you can do to stop it".

"You think you have any idea what the truth is? What your lost memories contain? If you knew the truth, you would be terrified. Horrified. You would know already to give up this futile resistance. But by all means, remember...remember and suffer for our enjoyment".

"Tick tock, tick tock. How much longer do you think you will last? You have no hope, no wisdom, no courage, no light. There will be no one to love you, to be your friend, you will have none of that! So you might as well surrender and submit, or just fall into despair!"

Along with this, it felt as if fear itself was trying to overwhelm them all. Up until now, things had been bad sure, but they always felt like they had a chance. But this...this was different. This was overwhelming. This was it...

Yuyan tried to take a step forward still though, along with Ruka and then others...but, Rula was the one who took the lead. And, she seemed to have some holopgraphic keyboard and a few screens in front of her.

"How about you shut up and have a taste of this!"

She typed something up, and then hit the enter key. Moments later, loud groans could be heard from those who were taunting them, belittling them, putting them through all this. Groans and exclamations of pain. The fear seemed to dissipate, at least for the moment, and allowed the group to catch their breaths. A lot of them looked tired, and worse, but it seemed they had regained their senses.

"What did...you do?"

"I gave them a nasty virus. With their power though, I cant guarentee how long it will last. We need to get out of the city and out of their range. I checked, and Ruka was right. I detected several monitoring type entities, programs from what I could guess, all around the city. But they are not in the woods, so escaping into there should keep us safe, or at least buy us time!"

When they heard those words, the group decided to double time it out of the city, passing the still incapacitated gate guards without a word as they immediately began to flee into the woods.

* * *

The woman looked at the screens, the video and audio of what happened just moments ago. And she was not happy.

"They were supposed to capture and distract, but this...this might have been too much stimulation. For all we know, they may remember even faster. But maybe, the right distraction could serve us well..."

"Ma'am" Ninjamon said, pressing a glyph on one of the datapads and bringing up some data onto her screen. It showed the six humans and six Digimon partners, as well as their Digivices. "There is something good we have confirmed. Although their individual levels still need work, we detected a strong spike in Unity between the group from this. It appears the twins, although we still do not know how they escaped, were the final pieces to the puzzle. It seems that this group could be used to serve our needs. Also, during the investigation, we found...a note".

The woman hummed with joy as she heard the good news, that her own plans could be furthered by this group. And that their Unity was high, it meant the power she seeked would be in hand soon enough.

But when the note was mentioned, she got interested.

"What do you mean by note?"

"It says, 'return them to their world as they are, and without messing or reverting any of them'".

"Haaaaaa...is this person on the side of justice or chaos I wonder? And thats it? No or else...well, given the secrecy of him getting the twins by us, I suppose that makes sense. But, what the hell does that mean exactly?"

"I think it may have been refering to this" Ninjamon said, bringing up one of the datafiles specifically. The woman made note of it, and giggled a bit.

"Well, isn't that interesting...if he wants my answer though, he is going to have to talk to me himself about this. Meanwhile, what of the Legion of Fear?"

"As expected, they have now cut off contact. Most likely, they wont be called off by anything or anyone".

"Well, lets just let them do as they please then. Let them handle the fear parts, with the limited knowledge we gave them. That said, those people tend to act on their own beat, so I suppose we should prepare our own surprises".

The female chuckled as she leaned in, and continued to enjoy the show.

* * *

The group managed to make it quite far into the forest before Izumi finally collapsed, needing rest. Rula did not look far behind him in that regard, and Kobayashi also seemed like he was getting low on stamina. The only three who still seemed in relatively good condition, although they were all practically out of breath themselves.

"I think...we lost them..."

"I dont detect any more monitoring devices, but once they deal with my hack they will probably switch frequencies so I wont be able to notice them again".

At those words, everyone pretty much collapsed onto the ground.

However, the moment they did, they noticed something strange...as if some of their luggage was missing.

"...guys, we are missing some of our stuff".

"What? But when did...oh no...when we ducked to avoid Knightmon..."

Yes, the group had successfully ducked and avoided getting their bodies hit by Knightmon's sword...but it seemed their bags had been hit. However, with the adrenaline rush gone, everyone was too tired to get up.

"What do we have left?"

Ruka looked at all the bags remaining, and sighed.

"We have a human medical kit I managed to find, and it looks like some rations...but it looks like we lost most of the rations, some towels, and the money we didn't store in bank accounts. I have my sword still, and we all still have our digivices...but, spare clothes, toilet paper, and most of the camping gear is gone. I think we still have some supplies to cook food with though, and like three sleeping bags of the six".

Ruka really had not skimped out on supplies, which unfortunately made it easier for Knightmon to hit off their backs.

"At least we have the first aid kit. Do you think we have time to..."

Before that sentence was finished, their Digivices all seemed to light up at the same time.

"Connection Re-Established. Hello, Digi..."

"Where the hell have you been?!" x 12

"Connection was temporarily unavailable. It has now been re-established".

The Voice had returned, speaking through their Digivices.

"Seriously? But it has been days".

"And you are far from Access City, the most stable point of connection. As a result..."

"Hold it, I have been meaning to ask about that" Izumi said, interrupting. "If Access City is the best point between our two worlds, how did we get to this world in the first place in places so far away from it? If the connection was as bad as you said, wouldn't we have appeared closer?"

"Ah. Lately, unknown Datastream Fluxes have been occuring, which allowed you to appear in those areas. Manipulation was done to ensure maximum comfort, but due to the various forces at play, functionality is further restricted. Furthermore, data I am allowed to disclose has been limited".

"Hold on, so not only are our memories missing, but you know them but wont tell us even though the people after us do know them?"

"No, I can disclose things to you. But only at certain milestones, and in a certain order, and only a certain amount at any given time. I shall be uploading the data when I can to your personal DigiDatabases, though due to some personal information, each Database will be updated seperately. After all, some secrets are best left to the ones they center around..."

At this point, everyone except for Ruka and Luka looked at the twins.

"Hey! I am not that secretive!"

"Liar".

"Either way, the first bit of information was this. The Dataflux, and the reason you were chosen, was not at random. You were not just randomly selected, but a reason was implimented".

"What?!"

This was the first they had heard that this was not random.

"Tell us then! Why are we here?"

"Unfortunately, that information is restricted at this time. Milestones must be reached before that information is unlocked. Warning, a significant number of Milestones will be required".

"What milestones are those? Can you at least tell us?"

"Sorry, that information is restricted".

"Why is it restricted?"

"Sorry, that information is restricted".

It answered the same way twice.

"...are you an actual person, or a Digimon? Or...are you an AI?"

"Contradiction: All Digimon are AIs in terms of standard human definition, though not all AIs are Digimon".

"Explain".

"In the Digital World, the world...the very universe...operates on similar seeming but in truth different set of physicals and laws of reality. All beings consist of Data, or Digital/Electronic energy. Therefore, if an AI is considered to be an Electronic Intelligence, then all Digimon are AIs. But as they also have physical bodies, hearts, and other things like that, they would also be considered organic lifeforms by most".

"Then, what are you?"

"Sorry, the limit for first time information dispensation barring specific situations has been reached. However, I can still inform you that if you wish to reach Access City, it is recommended you find the nearby river and follow it north. That will lead you in the right direction".

With those words, a map appeared on their screens indicating their current location, and the river in question.

"Please note that GPS functions will last until the next connection disruption. Also, please beware. Wild Digimon may attack day or night".

And with that warning, the group finally gathered up their strength again, and headed towards the river...and their next adventure.

* * *

AN: Well that was terrifying! Looks like the gang will have some new threats to deal with! But will that Digivice ever give them straight answers, and will they ever get a break? Find out next time on Digimon: Bonds!

* * *

DigiPoll: This session of DigiDatabase has been temporarily interrupted by DigiPoll, where I request readers to leave reviews and let me know the answer to questions I am curious about!

Question 1: So far, what is your favorite Digivolution?

Question 2: Whose Glyph do you like the most so far? To remind you: Yuyan has Boost. Kobayashi has Remote (Sorta like Telekinesis). Izumi has Thought. The twins have Augment. And although its not quite revealed yet, yes Rula did use her Glyph to create those holographic keyboards, screens, and the virus she delivered.

QUestion 3: Who is your favorite human of the six and why?

Question 4: Who is your favorite Digimon of the six and why?

Question 5: Mainly for those people out there who like shipping, who would you ship with who, and why?

Keep in mind answers will not have any effect, or if they do no major effect, on how the story will progress...probably. Just curious, and like to get reviews from people and see what they think.


	9. Chapter 9: Dreams

Chapter 9: Dreams

Deep in the forest, amid the trees and the mountains and the plants, a giant spikey ball was snoring in the center of the cave. It seemed almost peaceful, even if the...object...was clearly not some normal thing. Of course, that was because it was not a thing at all, but actually a lifeform.

It was so deep in sleep, that it failed to notice that its phone had been ringing, and that he had eight missed calls in the last hour alone. Clearly, someone was trying to get a hold of him. It just...wasn't working. It was not waking up no matter what happened, even as sunlight shined on it directly, or the racket of its phone. It remained silent and asleep as the forest outside its lair.

* * *

Izumi looked around the library, along with Patamon. The shelves almost seemed endless, given how large the library was. And within it was countless books of various types, all holding knowledge and secrets. It was a truly amazing thing that they had found.

"What luck, to think that we found such a place! We can use it as shelter and entertainment for the night! And maybe even take some of these to go! I mean, imagine how precious the writing in here must be, if beings in a digital world made the effort to write them down on paper!"

"Its full of knowledge and wonder and amazement!"

Izumi and Patamon said those things as they smiled at all the wonder of this place. So much knowledge they did not yet know, so much joy and wonder. It seemed amazing.

However, they heard no response to their voices, so they turned around to see what was up. And right there in front of them, a large book with eyes and what appeared to be stacked, folded condensed paper for arms, was holding all of his friends, human and Digimon alike.

"What the...what are you?! A Digimon?!"

"Fufufufufu...look at how pitiful you are, so admiring of knowledge, yet lacking what you need to save them! You cant even remember how you got here, but at least you will remember how your journey ended!"

"No! Patamon, we have to stop them! Digivolve!"

Patamon made some groaning noises as Izumi tried to make his Digivice work, but...nothing happened.

"What?! Damnit! Then...DNA BURST DIGIVOLUTION!"

However, all his Digivice did was fizzle out.

"Damnit...how come...why wont it work?!"

"You are a foolish human, thinking you can know everything! But you lack the ability to understand what anything is, especially Digimon! Their existences are beyond you!"

"No! I wont accept that! How did we get like this?!"

"Fool! Nothing can save you now!"

The Digimon went to strike at Izumi, but Izumi and Patamon rolled out of hte way. Patamon then desperately called out to him.

"Try Syncro Digivolution!"

"Right! Execute: Syncro Digivolution!"

However, once again nothing happened, which forced Izumi to dodge again using his own body.

"Damnit, I cant Boost like Yuyan and I dont have Ruka's experience in the Digital World..."

"You know nothing! You are useless!"

"Izumi, dont listen to him! If you lose spirit, we will never Digivolve!"

"Its just...how did we get like this?"

"By being foolish...!" it screamed as it sent an attack towards Izumi. However, Izumi stood there, still and silent.

"No, I mean...I dont remember entering this library".

And as Izumi answered, the Glyph of Thought appeared on his forehead, as well as Patamon's as the attack came at him.

"Ahhhhh!"

Izumi shouted that as he shot up from sleep, deeply scared and confused. He was now dressed in his sleepware, pyjamma shirt and pants, as the blanket shifted and fell off of his chest as he rose. He looked around, and everyone was in the same position as when he fell asleep. Yuyan, Kobayashi, and himself were sleeping on a tarp with a blanket over them, grouped together tightly as they often did. At their feet, next to where they left their shoes and socks, were the sleeping figures of Dorumon and Gabumon, and a Patamon who looked as groggy as he felt.

To their left, Ruka and Luka were in matching pyjammas, even the same color of green and stuffed into the same sleeping bag even. Their leg pieces were shorter then usual though, so it was far closer to shorts then the trio's. Cuddled up on each side of them were Coronamon and Lunamon. And on the other side was Rula, who was fast asleep in her sleeping bag, resting against a tree with her Digimon next to her.

It looked like everyone was still okay, although Izumi sent a slight glance towards Rula.

"You...you were supposed to wake up first...how is it I woke up first anyways? I fell asleep after everyone but Rula, who said she could handle the least sleep as the oldest, but...wow".

"Well, you did just have a nightmare you know?" Patamon said, as he floated over to him. Izumi just chuckled.

"That is right. Well, I suppose that means I will have to wake everyone up for a chance. Though, if we are close to the river, maybe I will just wake up Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Ruka and we can take a bath and wash off first. I would hate to be tracked down because of our scent".

"I suppose, though I thought you humans were more..." Patamon started, but then was suddenly chopped down by Izumi, whose Thought Glyph had appeared on his forehead.

"Don't you dare try to imitate Patamon, you jerk".

As Izumi said that, suddenly the entire setting seemed to shatter around him like glass. Now it was just a black void.

"You are quite bold...using a power you know nothing about. Given to you by people who took your memories".

"Well then, how would you know something like that?"

"I can see everything inside your head, including the things sealed off. Come now, we don't have to fight. Rather, given what I know about you, fighting me would be pointless. I could cripple you in an instant, with just a single sentence".

"I am not that weak!"

"According to what I saw in your fears, you are. You might have somehow shown resistance here, but can you honestly say your friends minds would survive if you intruded into them and did the same? Do you know what could potentially happen?"

At that thought, Izumi felt fear come over him as he considered what might happen.

"Don't listen to her! Wake up Izumi!"

But a voice shattered that, and suddenly Izumi found himself waking up, for real this time.

"Waah!"

Both he and Patamon let out a gasp as they rose from their slumber. The situation was similar to before, however there was one difference that Izumi had used last time to realize it was a dream. For one thing, none of them had brought their pyjammas into the Digital World, and they didn't have any with them. That said, it meant the group had to sleep in their clothes for the night, which was going to be bothersome in the long run. Especially given the fact each of them seemed to be sweating quite a bit, likely due to the nightmares.

However, there was another difference between that dream and reality. Izumi was not the only one awake.

"Izumi? Patamon?"

"Rula, Hackmon, is that you?"

Rula and Hackmon were also awake.

"What happened? How did you wake up? You are drenched in sweat, do you feel okay?"

"Terrible...pretty sure we got trapped inside some sort of nightmare realm. Our minds did, anyways" he said, brushing some of that sweat off of his forehead, and revealing that his Glyph of Thought was still active on his head. That was when he noticed there were wires attached all over to his body, as well as the others, and they linked back to a computer Rula was working on.

"It looks like you were able to break out due to your power, but the others are still trapped inside" Rula mentioned, as she typed on her computer some more. "I have been trying to analyze everyone and collect data, but so far I have no idea how to wake them up. I tried shaking, yelling, tickling, pouring water on their face, drawing on their faces, and some other things".

Izumi looked over at everyone, and saw that nothing had worked, though she had clearly tried.

"I see. BUt, why are you awake?"

"I never fell asleep. I am using to staying up days at a time. Anyways, because of that I was able to avoid falling under whatever kept them trapped in their own minds. That said, I am worried about what might happen to them if we dont free them soon. The longer this goes on, the worse it might get for them. In fact, Kobayashi's heart stopped at one point from whatever he was facing, so I had to get it started again".

"...well, I am glad you were able to do that. Still, we are going to have to be more careful in the future. First though, we have to get them out now. Did you try electroshocks?"

"Uhh...yeah..."

"...you tried them on me, didn't you?"

"No hard feelings?"

Izumi finally stood up off the tarp, and got his shoes and socks on.

"Its an emergency situation, so for now yeah. Just, tell me you have some idea of how to free them..."

"There is one...you use your power, find out where the origin is from, and go and confront it directly".

As she said those words, Izumi clenched his fists and stepped back a little.

"Do...do you have another way?"

"Not really...why, what is the problem?"

Izumi looked at his own hand, and concern was building up in him.

"I just...I dont know much about this power yet. What if...what if I break their minds? What if I do even worse damage?"

"You were able to use it to protect us, weren't you?"

"Yeah, and look how well that went! You were the ones who saved us from that! I couldn't even keep up my power to protect everyone!"

Rula grabbed his arm as he shouted that, pulled him in closer, and then bent down a little so they were eye level with each other.

"Listen to me right now, Izumi. I dont know what sort of nightmares and fears that thing told you, but are you honestly going to stand there and pee in your pants while your two best friends, not to mention Ruka and Luka who are your juniors, need you? Do you want to let Yuyan and Kobayashi down?"

Hearing that provocation, Izumi felt a fire flare up inside himself.

"No..."

Izumi said that, softly at first.

"No! I wont abandon them, no matter how afraid I am!"

"Good, then show them you can do it!"

"Yeah!" Izumi shouted, as his Glyph shined brighter then ever, and engulfed the entire area. And the next thing they knew, they were standing in something different now. There were stars all around them, and various broken floating islands full of random stuff. Teddy bears, octopuses, and lots of them had spiders. And also...a Digimon that their Digivices reacted to.

"Nightmon. Virus Attribute, Nightmare Soldiers Family. Champion Level, extremely dangerous. Known for being able to reach into the minds of the sleeping and drag them into a Nightmare Realm, as well as memory manipulation".

"What the...you dare tresspass into my domain?! What foolishness! For this...this is where I am my strongest, and your power cannot defeat me here!"

"Not quite...after all, any Nightmare could also be a dream right? Well, let me show you...the power of human dreams!"

Although Rula nearly keeled over after hearing that line, Izumi raised his Digivice.

 _"I dont know if I have the ability to Digivolve Patamon in the real world yet, but in my dreams...I should be more then able to!"_

 _"I want to Digivolve...for Izumi's sake. For my friend's sake! For everyone's sake! For my sake!"_

"Execute! Dreamer Digivolution!" Izumi shouted, as he put his thumb on the scanner at the top of the Digivice and hoped this would work. Suddenly, he slid his thumb off in a fast motion and drew it back like the others, with a stream of code following.

"Dreamer Digivolution...non-existant. Reforming the power of DNA Burst Digivolution, Updating, Spreading Update Among Digivices. Core Code, Preserved. Additional Code: Added. DNA Burst Digivolution (ADV mode) now possible".

The digivice responded, and after those words as he sort of dragged, or smeared, the code in front of his body. Although originally he planned for somethign different, it appeared to have the same effect in the end. More or less.

[Patamon DNA Burst Digivolve to...]

The rings fully deconstructed and then reconstructed Patamon, causing Patamon to turn into...

[...FlameAngemon!]

The Angemon that appeared was somewhat smaller then the Angemon they were used to, but more importantly, fire seemed to be coming off of the bow in its possession as well as the wings.

"Flame...Angemon?"

"Indeed. The DNA Burst utilized the power of your firey spirit deep inside your DNA, and resulted in this Digivolution!" The Digivice responded. Izumi wanted to question it, but it was a dream after all technically speaking. Who knew how much of this was actually accurate.

"...didn't realize Spirit could be extracted from DNA...whatever, FlameAngemon! Lets do this!"

(Insert Digimon Fight Theme here!)

"Right! Flaming Arrow!"

"Nightmare Eater!"

The two launched attacks at the same time, which then collided mid air. At the same time, FlameAngemon appeared behind Nightmon, swooping in and bashing it with its bow. At the same time, Nightmon tried to block but ended up not being able to react in time and was sent hurtling into the ground. FlameAngemon then drew two more arrows and sent them right at Nightmon.

"Dreamer's Sanctum!"

It protected itself with a barrier, but the attacks managed to shatter the barrier as a third arrow that FlameAngemon had fired after the first two went and struck it.

"Its time for you to wake up now and face reality, Nightmon!"

"No! I wont be beat that easily!"

And so, FlameAngemon went and clashed with it, cutting it in two with a swing from the bow as if it were a sword.

"Izumi! Now, the data!"

"Right! Data Scan, Activate!"

Izumi then took out his Digivice, and scanned the Data Code as the Digimon was defeated. Although most still went off to where it would be recycled and turned into an egg, instead of the excess scattering about, it went into the Digivice instead.

"Come on Izumi, you are too slow!"

And as this happened, Izumi heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see Yuyan, running in place as if he was waiting for Izumi to catch up, and then Kobayashi seemed to run out of nowhere to catch up, though he was panting a little.

"You too Kobayashi! We cant miss it!"

"What the...what are you two talk..."

"Hold up! I am right here! Stop going so fast Yuyan!"

Izumi started to reply, but then was interrupted...by his own voice. An Izumi identical to himself ran past him, joining up with the other two in this weird place. Meanwhile, Rula came and walked up next to him.

"I think...its a dream. Or...a memory?"

And right as she said that, the next person to appear...was Rula.

"Guess I beat you again, Izumi- _chan_ ".

"I told you, use kun, not chan, Rula-kun" Izumi replied, showing some spunk as the two glared at each other.

"Can't help it, you are my adorable kouhai who has yet to surpass me".

"I surpassed you just fine last week when I beat your best time".

"But not a few days ago when I succeeded in changing the schedule for the school lunch, and you didn't".

The two then glared at each other, but then voices were heard in the background. Neither of them could hear what they were though, as the sound and visuals were fading fast. And in the next moment, Izumi, Patamon, Rula, and Hackmon returned to the normal area.

"...so we also knew each other in the real world...ahg, this headache is killer..."

"Same...memory recollection hurts like hell..."

But their feelings of pain got subsided, as they heard the others finally stirring from their sleep and waking up.

"Guess Nightmon had you all wrong, huh?"

Rula told him that quickly, before going to check on the others.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the cave...

"...meeeeerrrr...what the hell was that...I have not slept in this long in...ever..."

The Digimon finally woke up as well, and to the sound of his phone ringing. He pressed a button with a spike on his outer shell, which answered the phone.

"...hello?"

And in response, the voice of a woman came over the phone.

"Hello Wreckmon. I would like to make you an offer, to get your help in dealing with some humans going through your forest..."

* * *

AN: Uh oh! Looks like the nightmare is over, but over for everyone! At least Izumi managed to face his fears, and unlocked a new memory! But will they be able to face down this new threat? Find out next time on Digimon: Bonds!

* * *

DigiData: Izumi's BioData

Hair: Black, medium with some length.

Eyes: Black, occasionally green under exertion.

Age: 10 (Almost 11)

Height: 110cm

Scars: None

Weight: 71 lbs.

Main Hand: Right

Allergies: None

Blood Type: AB-

* * *

DigiData: Nightmon

Level: Champion

Attribute: Virus

Family: Nightmare Soldiers

Special Attacks/Techniques: Nightmare Eater, Dreamer's Sanctum

Notes: Tends to exist in the Dream Realm, and draws power from dreams and nightmares. It can often be tricky to pin down unless it exerts its power beyond the normal levels. Does have a physical form somewhere, but often stays hidden in isolated areas.

Type: Demon


	10. Chapter 10: Survive

**AN: Took awhile, but here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy, because more are coming soon, and things are still heating up!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Survive

"I wonder...Dorumon, are their seasons in the digital world?"

Yuyan asked that as the group continued down the road, heading in the direction towards Access City. It had now been a week since the group had fled Firewall City and the people after them, and each day had been harder and tougher then the last. In all the adventure stories, anime, and manga they had seen, it had only ever showed them exploring new places and things, getting into all sorts of action, and wearing those super cool outfits all the time.

Yuyan knew he brought it up before, but he couldn't help but keep reflecting back on how little he knew about what adventuring really meant. Such as the sweat, the exhaustion one could feel all the time, the stress of supplies and its effect physically and mentally, and all those other things.

It had been a little easier when it had just been Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi, but things got a bit more interesting with the addition of the other three, mainly the two girls. After all, each of them only had one set of clothes. Now, they had been staying by the river, so technically they could wash them, and themselves, anytime, but while the desperation gave them some strength, their common senses had not quite been broken yet. And if they wanted to properly wash their clothes, they couldn't wear them at the same time.

And the fact was that it seemed really hot lately, so Yuyan was starting to suspect that it was summer.

"Of course there is!"

As a Digital World, Yuyan had not known if it was set to always be this warm, or if it did have things like winter. Or at least spring and fall.

But the simple fact was, this was not just some adventure. It was a matter of survival. Even if Dorumon and the other Digimon gave them info and told them things, the fact was that this world was mainly populated by Digimon, and humans stood out. Which meant the people chasing them would find them a lot easier if they risked going into a city again, especially if they went to buy supplies for humans. Not to mention they had to worry about people like Etemon who tricked them all quite easily last time.

Unfortunately, they still had to stay on guard since there were plenty of other ways they could be tracked.

Ruka pulled on his sleeve, and sniffed one of them.

"I think we need to take a bath for one thing, and wash our clothes. Right Luka?"

"Right, Ruka!"

The other four looked a bit anxious as that was addressed. The group felt uncomfortable and smelled like crazy, but their current situation was...difficult.

"I think I see some rocks up ahead, and a split in the river".

And it was Patamon that helped find a sort of solution...

* * *

"Much, much better" Yuyan declared as he stepped into the river. With him was Kobayashi, Izumi, and Ruka who was pouting a bit still. It seemed that he and his sister always bathe together as twins, but no one wanted to let them bathe alone, and it would have been awkward if they had the genders mixed.

Their clothes were currently off on the side. They lacked proper cleaning methods, like soap and detergent, so it was really nothing more then having taken them off first, soaking them, and then letting them dry. But at least once they were, it would be a lot more comfortable.

"We really should have done this sooner though" Ruka commented, holding on tight to Yuyan. Even if the water was calm, he was probably the most liable to get pulled downstream because he was the smallest. "They probably have some method to track our scent, like with search dogs".

"Thats probably true, but...with your sister and Rula around, it was kind of difficult to bring up" Izumi said, walking up behind Kobayashi who was standing on the edge. "Besides, unless one sits down, or goes really far in, the water is not really high enough to reliably cover".

As he said that, he then suddenly pushed Kobayashi forward and fell into the water. It was still shallow, but the splash got him wet all the same.

"Hey!"

"What? We might as well as enjoy the bath after all! All we have been is doom and gloom lately, so lets wash off the negativity as well. Having a high morale is just as important!"

"Its just..."

"Koba-chan is just being shy?"

"Dont use that nickname!"

Izumi teased Kobayashi a little, before grabbing an arm and pulling him further into the water as Yuyan and Ruka waded in a bit further, at least until they could sit down with the water up to their necks. It was a nice cool river, so it also gave them some relief from the heat.

And soon after, Yuyan made a big splash that soaked Izumi and Kobayashi's heads.

"That said, Izumi is right. We dont know how long we are going to be stuck here. Its already been half a month at least, and we still have quite a bit to go to reach Access City. We cant just stay tense and negative the whole time".

"Thats true. Especially if we walk the whole way" Ruka said, holding on to Yuyan still. "We also cant split up like this every time we take a bath either..."

"...I suppose that is true as well. We cant survive on berries and fruit alone. We have managed to keep our cantines filled at least, so long as we follow the river".

"If the river flowed the other direction, we could build a raft and ride down it..."

"Unfortunately, the river runs in the opposite direction. We would only get further away from Access City if we tried that".

"And well, we certainly cant do that either..."

As it was mentioned, the group turned towards their Digimon. Obviously, hunting wild Digimon for meat was not an option, unless the others suddenly became cannibal, or at least part cannibal. Though, if Digimon were made of data, and they could survive off of data, weren't they kind of already that anyways?

Well, it was a subject none of them were willing to bring up.

"And after last time, we should avoid any towns and cities before Access City. Even to resupply".

"Not to mention, we don't even know what we are going back to. Our memories are still lacking, so for all we know, everyone thinks we are dead...and who knows what scientists and government people will want to do to us if they discover what happened to us".

Ruka just looked down at the ground as that was brought up, curling his toes.

"...I don't believe it will be that bad. And, we need to at least try".

"You okay Ruka?"

"Just a bit worried is all...hey, hey!"

Yuyan ended up wrapping his arms around Ruka and giving him a hug.

"Its okay. No matter what happen, we are a team, and we have your back".

"Okay okay! I get it...ah, too tight, too tight!"

"Anyways, until we can get back, we need to keep morale up, maybe find something to do recreationally".

Suddenly, Yuyan smiled mischevously at Izumi.

"Well, I can think of one thing!"

And suddenly, he went and threw Ruka at Kobayashi to keep him occupied, while he stood up and tackled Izumi to the ground, pinning him.

"I win!"

"What the...no fair!" Izumi said, struggling as he managed to splash water into Yuyan's face, and then using that to push Yuyan off him. The two then started wrestling right then and there in the shallow water.

"Well, I suppose that is...huh?!"

And suddenly, as Kobayashi was making a remark, Ruka tripped him up and knocked him to the ground, getting on top of him.

"I might be younger, but I am not weaker!"

"Wha-wha! Ruka!"

"It is no use! I am the wrestling god! YOu cannot defeat me!"

"Uwa...no way! I am not letting you beat me that easily and getting teased by Yuyan and Izumi!"

"Waaah?! The shy one has made a counter atta...haha...hey! No...hahaha...tickling!"

"Kobayashi secret technique! Tickle attack!"

"Haha...cheater!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rocks where the girls were bathing...

"Muuu...I want to play with Ruka..."

"Sigh...just, let them play. They are right, we need the morale boost".

"I am more concerned about food. We really do need something tasty. Hackmon, Lunamon, are you sure you cant think of anything?"

"Sorry, but I was more of a city person" Hackmon mentioned. As for why Hackmon was over there, it was because Hackmon was Rula's partner. Also, Hackmon was kind of a robot like Digimon, so Rula was not even sure if he actually had a gender.

"And I was hatched by Luka, along with my brother Coronamon by Ruka".

The two digimon had no helpful info on gathering food.

"Well, whatever the case, we might just need to start experimenting soon".

"I hope we dont eat anything poisonous".

"Yeah, I would hate to get sick and need a hospital..." Rula mentioned, when she had a weird image flash in her mind. Sirens...and a hospital. And tears running down her face.

"Rula? Are you okay?"

"...yeah, I am fine. I just remembered something".

"R-really?! What did you remember?"

"A hospital...and crying. I cant remember if I was the patient or visiting someone who was though. But, I remember crying, so probably I was visiting someone..."

Lunamon came over and smiled.

"Thats because behind the tough, hacker rogue exterior, you are a good and sweet person!"

"Hey hey" Rula said, with a mini-glare. "Dont go around saying stuff like this. I am plenty tough".

"You were too shy to bathe with the boys in a situation like this".

"Shut up! Its just unusual! Next time, I can totally handle it! I can handle anything!"

"Not hospitals apparently~" Hackmon added in jokingly, making Rula pout a bit.

"Dont make me hack you all into having measles on your butts".

"Ehhh?! Thats too mean!"

"Well then, maybe you should be careful what you say".

The group of them ended up laughing a little at that, as they continued the bath.

Once it was done, the group ended up air and sun dying on the rocks on their sides, before finally getting dressed and heading out. That said, their stomachs were grumbling like crazy again, given they only had berries for lunch. So as they went up river, the walk uphill made that even more prominent.

"I miss air conditioning".

"I think it might help relieve some stress if an enemy actually did show up, rather then us not knowing when one would appear".

Although a few people wanted to remark that Dorumon would jinx them saying stuff like that, it wasn't entirely wrong. They had not been attacked in a whole week. Even now, when they bathed and were entirely exposed, nothing took advantage of it. The stress of not knowing when they would be attacked again was also getting to them. They knew they were being hunted after all, those things from before would come after them sooner or later. And they were way too strong for them to fight, so it was a relief not to encounter them. But...the tension was palpapable. THe silence was bothering them just as much.

The bath helped relieve their stress, but the situation they were in right now was not good either. It was all building up, physically and mentally.

And to make matters worse...

"Rrrrggrrrggggrrrr..."

Stormclouds were closing in overhead. In other words, unless they wanted everything to get soaked, they needed to find shelter.

"We better find shelter soon. COme on, it looks like there are large rocks and cliffs up ahead. There might be a cave".

Finding the motivation, the group double timed it towards the cave.

"Hurry!"

The stormclouds seemed to be rolling in much faster then they thought, and they had not found a cave yet, but they kept on hurrying and refused to give up.

ANd as they went further and further, the storm got closer and closer, sounding ever more threatening and dangerous.

"Up there! I see a cave!"

Patamon announced that as he flew and monitored things from above. Hearing that they had found shelter, the group pushed forward and headed into the cave. It started to rain right as they rushed through, and lightning struck the very spot they had entered as well.

"Wow...that was...close..."

"All the storm clouds made it darker too, not to mention its sunset. I can barely see anything".

"Lets just head further into the cave. We dont know when it will let up, and we need our sleep..."

* * *

As the sun began to set, and day became night, a figure approached the cave under the cover of darkness and storm.

"Looks like its time for the games to begin..."

* * *

 **An: Uh oh! With their morale low, their stomachs empty, and their bodies weary, have they managed to do enough to recover? Or is their mysterious hunter going to eliminate them all? Find out next time on Digimon: Bonds!**

* * *

DigiDatabase: Digimon Fact

Although it might seem strange to humans, the absorbtion of data of a defeated Digimon is not considered cannabalism, especially between different Digimon species. However, while there are Digimon who do eat other Digimon, a lot of them do not. They have other methods of acquiring meat and sustinance for their bellies.

* * *

DigiDatabase: Weather

The Digital World can experience two types of weather, natural and reactory. Natural is what normal weather is on earth, while reactory is a reaction to large scale data transfers and changes on the internet, certain anomolous events in the digital world, deliberate action to manipulate the weather in the digital world, or other such things.

Also, there are four seasons in the Digital World. However, there are also regions that are pretty much always summer/summerlike, and winter/winterlike.


	11. Chapter 11: Strength

Chapter 11: Strength

"How deep is this cave?" Yuyan questioned as they continued further into its depths.

"Should we head back so we dont get lost?"

"So far, there has only been one path with no branch offs. We cant get lost".

"That is what you always say, Ruka!"

"And I am always right!"

"I cant tell whether you two siblings get along great, or poorly, given all the time you bick...er..." Kobayashi started to say, when his head suddenly felt fuzzy. For a moment, he thought he was looking at stairs, and bent down...

"Wh...what are you doing? I can walk just fine" Ruka told him, which caused him to snap back to reality.

"Oh...sorry..." Kobayashi said, as he realized it was all in his head. "...I think I was experiencing a memory, or something".

"Well, I have plenty of strength and ability to walk, so I dont need to be carried on your shoulders".

"Right, right. Sorry...wait, how did you know that was what that was for?"

"Because you did it as you were right in front of me?"

"Oh, right...guess I am just out of it..."

As Kobayashi got up and they kept walking, Luka went over to her brother.

"This is really bad. And with the lack of food and proper beds..."

"...yeah. We need to get the morale built up more".

That was when the entire cave began to shake. The floor below them especially seemed to get violent, and caused them to all fall over and plunge further into the dark cave.

* * *

"Excuse me, Ma'am?"

Ninjamon appeared from the shadows once more, there to serve his master. He seemed a bit concerned however.

"What is it, Ninjamon? It is unlike you to be unable to maintain your composure like this".

"Well, we have a report that Wreckmon has found them and prepared a game to face them in...however, we also have some reports of weather abnormalities in the region they are passing through, so its getting harder for us to operate".

"Abnormal weather, huh? Its probably nothing...unless..."

She became a bit concerned at a possibility.

"...unless its not..."

* * *

"Hold on there, everyone! Stay strong! Just stay strong!"

A voice could be heard, along with an occasional beep.

And then, Yuyan woke up, gasping for air.

"Right...we fell...it was just a dream...what was the dream again..."

"Yuyan! Oh good, you are awake!"

Yuyan was immediately greeted by Dorumon, who practically tackled him with joy now that he was awake and okay.

"Dorumon...and the others?"

He looked around, but the only other two still awake were Ruka and Luka, who had arrived before the rest of them in the digital world and gathered the most strength.

The other three were still out cold, as well as their Digimon.

"Hmm...looks like its just us".

"This seems like a bad omen".

"Well lets be honest, I dont think we have had a break since we got here".

"I wonder if they are okay..."

The moment Yuyan said that, his Digivice started to make noise. He took it out, and a new holographic screen was projected, which showed heartbeats and vital signs for all twelve of them, human and Digimon, and indicated they were fine.

"Well...thats new..."

"Yeah. Though, I wonder how they are monitoring all this...especially our heartbeats..."

"Its the Digital World, best to give up on questions like that. After all, we also got superpowers".

"But aren't you curious also...what the?!"

Interrupting their conversation was another earthquake, or at least enough shaking to feel like one.

"Yuyan, we need to get out of here. We shouldn't be underground during an earthquake. At least, not in a place that was not built to withstand it".

"No worries, this place is built to last after all!" a voice from the shadows called out to them. At the same time, the entire area they had fallen into lit up with a crazy display of lights, illuminating the cave...or at least, what they thought had been a cave, for them. It had been so dark they could not see, but now...with everything that was lit up...

Well...

It looked like the inside of a giant pinball machine, only without the bumpers and was flat. And at the same time, they heard a powerful and nearing sound of a large heavy rolling object.

"Evade!"

Yuyan, Ruka, Luka, Dorumon, Coronamon, and Lunamon all rolled out of the way as a large spiked ball rolled past them. At the same time, their digivices activated.

"Wreckmon. Champion Level Digimon of Spikemon. Machine Type of the Metal Empire. Known for extremely tough shell and powerful acceleration ability, extreme danger level".

Yuyan looked at the data and more, and was concerned with what he saw.

"Rude! How dare you go and make that thing introduce me before you have introduced yourselves! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

And Wreckmon immediately scolded them on their etiquette.

"""We apologize!""" they replied as they bowed, before coming to their senses and realizing the situation. "But hey, you tried to run us over before all of that!"

"Well that is extra rude! This is my home you have come into, wearing that strange armor!"

"...armor?"

"That stuff on your chest and waist and such! YOu came in here looking to pick a fight!"

"...right...Digimon and clothes...well, whatever! Its not armor, its jsut clothing!"

"CLothing...so its a special kind of armor! No matter, it will not protect you intruders who have invaded my home!"

Yuyan just wanted to sigh right now. He knew he was not exactly the smartest person, but...this guy just seemed unreasonable. Although, granted, they did enter his home apparently without permission.

"And you didn't even bother to take your shoes off!"

"Oh right, sor...wait, how do you know shoes and not clothes?!"

"Those shoes are clothes too?!"

As Yuyan quarreled with Wreckmon, the other five looked at him with pity.

"He doesn't realize Wreckmon is messing with him, does he..."

"Totally doesn't..."

"Definently not".

""He is oblivious to it"".

The five came to the same conclusion. However, the reason they had not brought it up yet was their own debate.

"So, he was hostile and rude to us, attacking us like that...but, we probably shouldn't stoop to his level right? So we should take our shoes off?"

"But this seems like someone we will be fighting, and doesn't this seem more like an arena or a dojo?"

"Its technically pinball, but given the size of it...well, you would still take your shoes off for a dojo".

"But if he was rude to us, should you really show him consideration and kindness?"

"Well, if we dont, we would seem just as bad. I mean, you really shouldn't wear your shoes inside anyways..."

"But this doesnt seem like a home...also, I think an exception could be made for a fight".

"...this is why human concepts like clothes and shoes and such seem so silly to Digimon..."

"I know, lets just ask him. Hey, Wreckmon!"

"What?! And don't be so rude!"

"Well, here is the thing! This doesn't look like a home, but more like an arena or a dojo!"

"It is a dojo!"

"Oh, so it is?"

"Yes! Stop tracking dirt everywhere!"

Ruka turned back to his sister.

"Alright then, its a dojo and not an arena".

"Can we really trust him to answer honestly though? I think he set this trap for us".

"Yeah, but do you want to risk mom hearing we were not mindful of our manners?"

Suddenly, a shiver ran down Luka's back. The two twins nodded, and immediately took off their boots...

"Are these floors padded like all those pinball pillar like things?"

"Of course! I might be heavily armored and have spikes, but even so its not like I lack pain! Besides, the cushions help make sure I dont accidentally wreck it during training!"

"Un. Thanks".

They took off their socks too.

"There. Socks on this material would be too slippery, we will need some grip".

"Agreed. Yuyan, are you going to as well?"

"Wait, you are complying?!"

"More like, we dont want our mom to hear that we discarded our manners needlessly".

Yuyan thought about it for a moment, and then remembered soemthing himself. He went over, and took off his orange vest, his shoes, and his socks as well before the three of them entered the main area of the arena.

"Better?"

"Much!"

"Now that we are back on track then...what is going on, why did you attack us, and how do we get out?"

"Hahaha! In order to get out you see, you will have to defeat me here! At my amazing Pinball Dojo! If you lose, I get to take all the data I want from you, and those who remain become my servants for as long as I desire! If you win, you may leave this place!"

"...that is unusual straightforward and fair, aside from forcing us into this in the first place. And he seems like he is being honest".

"Yeah. I guess he is that kind of character" Yuyan mentioned. "So, how do we determine who wins and loses?"

"I win if I manage to get all of you down on the ground, you win if I am incapacitated!"

With those words, he suddenly accelerated and rushed right towards them, forcing the trio to dodge again. However, with all the bouncy cushioned surfaces, he immediately bounced back towards them after hitting the wall, heading right towards Ruka. Ruka just barely managed to dodge out of the way, although one spike tore a small cut into the right sleeve on his shirt.

"We need to digivolve now!" Coronamon called out. "We don't have enough strength to beat it!"

"Right!" Yuyan said, starting to hold out his digivice...when suddenly Wreckmon hit a wall and came charging right at him! Yuyan dodged out of the way, but he was unable to digivolve Dorumon.

""We got this!"" Ruka and Luka called out, raising their digivices...when Wreckmon bounced around and started heading their way at high speeds! ""Nevermind!""

"This isn't good! We dont have the time to Digivolve with him like this!"

"And we cant beat him without digivolution!"

As he came back around, the six of them were just barely able to dodge out of the way again. It seemed like with every bounce, he was getting even faster.

"Yuyan, what about Boost?"

"Its no good! Alone, my Boost wont give them the strength to face this guy! He is too strong! What about your Augments?"

"Its good for variation, but it lacks the power needed!"

"Hahaha! Its impossible for you children! You lack power, creativity, and unity!"

Accelerating even faster, he came just an inch away from hitting Yuyan and taking him down with the last pass. The group tried to scatter about, but then he would move in ways to force them closer together. After he made another attempt, they all dodged but fell on their butts, thankfully it did not hurt too much thanks to the bouncy cushions.

"He is too good!"

"He is too fast!"

"We cant do this ourselves!"

And as they said that while bouncing and getting back to their feet...then it finally hit them. All of them. They looked towards each other, and nodded.

"Then one of us needs to somehow hold him off while the others digivolve!"

""Leave it to us then!""

The twins announced that immediately, and began to run the opposite direction while waving at Wreckmon with their Digimon in tow.

"Right now, we both need to use our Digivices to Digivolve..."

"...so it will be easier for you to Digivolve then us!"

Yuyan realized what they were thinking, and so he grabbed Dorumon and ran in the opposite direction. He started to hold out his digivice, but Wreckmon immediately charged him!

"Fools! Planning right in front of..."

"Now!"

However, Ruka and Luka had also met up and raised their digivices. From the opposite side of the arena. Suddenly, he shot out spikes that went towards them to interrupt their digivolution.

At least, that was what it would have done if they were actually digivolving.

"Augment: Bounciness!"

"Boost! Leg Focus!"

And so, Yuyan jumped onto the bouncy floor augmented by the twins with his Boosted ability, and skyrocketed into the air.

"Clever...but do you think someone has not tried that before! Rush Launch!"

And so, Wreckmon shot himself into the air...and he saw Yuyan smile mischevously as he did. And then, he realized their true goals all along.

"Now, Dorumon!"

"Metal Cannon!"

And Dorumon fired off an attack while being held by Yuyan in mid air...only, not at Wreckmon. Rather, it was at a wall, and the recoil sent them back to the ground while Wreckmon was still in the air...and now, they took out their Digivices.

"Execute! DNA Burst Digivolution!"

""Execute! Dual Digivolution!""

"Well played, but do you think that will be enough to..."

"Also! Augment: Digivolution Process!"

"Boost: Digivolution!"

"WHAT?!"

They had taken Wreckmon's words to heart, as they realized up to this point, they had only been doing what was obvious, both in their fighting and their Digipowers. Boosting physical abilities and durability, augmenting with elements and power, but as they bounced on the floor, that gave the twins the idea. Augment the bounciness...and also, if they did have a chance to Digivolve, make it count and augment that too. And for Yuyan, he realized that maybe he could boost more then physical objects...but actions themselves.

And thus, as they interacted with their Digivices and drew the code out, they finally had the time to perform Digivolution using this new method.

The data flowed around their Digimon as they floated through the digital rings of light.

[Dorumon Boosted DNA Burst Digivolve to...]

And thus, the process took it even a step further then before, boosting upon itself, taking the power hidden in the DNA that was exposed and going even deeper. Reordering and reforming, until...

[...Dorugamon!]

And as for Coronamon and Lunamon...

[Coronamon...and Lunamon...Augment Dual Digivolves to...]

And meanwhile, the twins also had a powerful and interesting reaction...as Coronamon and Lunamon not only were Augmented, but also began to Augment each other until...the energy came back and augmented Ruka and Luka!

[Ruka...]

[...and Luka...]

[...Twin Augment Digivolve to...]

[Wizru!]

[Sorlu!]

Yuyan, who watched this happen, saw as, for lack of better descrptive words, Ruka appeared in Wizardmon cosplay, and Luka appeared in Sorcerymon Cosplay. And unlike when Yuyan and Kobayashi Syncro Digivolved, and appeared in outfits that were rather embarassing in a number of ways, they looked far more normal and covered. Ruka had a wizardlike robe, shorts that kind of matched with it, a shirt underneath the robe, and shoes that appeared like Wizardmon, while Luka essentially had the same but more white like Sorcerymon.

The two also had the wizard hats of course, but they also looked absolutely adorable like that. But still less embarrassing then the first time Yuyan Syncro-Digivolved.

"...the hell happened to those two..." Wreckmon said as he landed back into the ground. It seemed something happened they did not expect, so Wreckmon took advantage of it.

"You should not have left an opening like that!"

Wreckmon charged right at them, but Ruka was quick to react and created a barrier. Wreckmon had lost a bit of momentum from that jump. Of course, he knew that would happen, but he did not expect Yuyan to have Dorumon use an attack to dodge. It was clever. He had expected to at least take out Yuyan and Dorumon, and then finish off the other two before they could finish.

He was actually quite impressed. But in the end, while powerful, the momentum he lost let Ruka's barrier be able to withstand his attack.

"Now! Frost Coffin!"

And at the same time, Luka...or rather, Sorlu, began to encase him in ice. He immediately retreated...or, he tried to, but...

"Cannonball!"

Dorugamon had moved behind and had been charging an attack, which it released. Unlike Dorumon's attacks, this one held more power, and was being actively boosted by Yuyan, so the force was enough to stop him in his tracks and push him back, getting him pinned up against the barrier.

""Now! Dual Cast: Frostflame Obliteration!""

Wizru and Sorlu crossed their staffs and combined their magic, which resulted in heat and cold attacks at one spot at the same time. The combination of this caused a reaction in the metal armor of the spot, which resulted in an explosion that knocked Wreckmon away.

"So much strength...impressive..." Wreckmon managed to say as he collapsed. The metal sphere seemed to open up, and revealed that those pieces were just armor configured in a certain way, and that he had a metallic but also organic humanoid form within. "...you did well to defeat me..."

Suddenly, a door seemed to appear as he snapped his fingers, and as it opened Kobayashi, Izumi, and Rula all ran out...now that it mentions that, the three of them didn't even notice...

"You three! You totally forgot about us and got embroiled in the game, didn't you!"

...that they had disappeared and were not in the way. Meanwhile, Kobayashi came over and gave Yuyan back his vest, socks, and shoes, while Izumi did the same for the twins.

"Uhh...nooo...we just, had a lot to focus on! This was super critical!"

"Like hell it was! After waking up some time into the game, we were watching you the whole time! You six were having a lot of fun and smiling!"

"Wh-what! No we were not!"

"Wreckmon! Instant replay!"

Wreckmon follered her directions, and put up a holographic screen. This showed all of them, even before they were winning and in a bind, smiling and clearly having fun.

"That...thats been doctored! As a form of revenge from Wreckmon!"

"Please, you know he isn't the type to be dishonest!"

"But...but...he was dishonest though, wasn't he?! With the whole..."

Before the conversation could get any further, the entire mountain shook again.

"Could you please stop doing that Wreckmon?"

"Umm...that isn't me..."

* * *

"Alert! Alert!"

Every screen in front of the woman suddenly went into emergency notification mode.

"Danger! Danger! Corrupted Pressence Detected!"

"What...no no no! I was right!"

The woman checked her reports, with the region where she believed the new Digi-Destined now overlapping with the emergency area.

"Damn it...it wont matter who wins if the Corrupted get their hands on those humans! You better hurry up, Ninjamon!"

* * *

Wreckmon noticed another holographic screen appear, this time with various alerts and emergency alarms going off. At the same time, something that sounded like drilling could be heard overheard.

"Damnit! Quickly, back there the wall opens up! It leads to a secret passage that will be a shortcut, cutting off a lot of travel time to Access City! You need to get to it now! Hurry, get out of here!"

"Wait, what...what is going on?"

"Yeah, what is going on?"

As that was said, the ceiling suddenly burst open and several black metallic pods dropped into the room. They opened up, and some black ooze came out, which quickly formed humanoid shapes and beast like shapes, all black but with burning red eyes.

(No, they are not Heartless...)

"You have to escape now! They are after you! They wont stop coming until you escape! I will hold them off until you escape!"

"Flashstorm!"

"Chilltastrophe!"

Wizru and Sorlu, who had yet to de-digivolve, and de-fuse, launched two attacks at them. It wiped a number of them out, but more seemed to be forming from the pods.

"But we can fight..."

"No! You cant let them touch you! They can disrupt the connect...well, basically, they can consume you!"

Wreckmon started to say something else, but switched up and gave a simpler action. However, that seemed like it was all that was needed to convince Wizru and Sorlu.

"Alright! Lets go! Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"Yeah! If they are after us, then they will leave this place alone once we leave!"

The group immediately began to flee, but one of them was still a bit confused.

"I wonder why though...why did he do that?"

"Wreckmon? You mean why did he cover for us?"

"Well no, I understand that. I wonder why he attacked you all in the first place. I mean, I know what type someone is does not guarentee their personality or ideals, but Wreckmon has always been a rather kindhearted, if blunt, rush, and adreneline seeking, Vaccine type?"

Indeed, among all the other data they got about Wreckmon before, one fact was that he was a Vaccine type. And also, a hero of justice...

"I wonder why he got involved with us..."

* * *

Flashback to a few days ago...

"Hello Wreckmon. I would like to make you an offer, to get your help in dealing with some humans going through your forest..."

"Now hold it right there. I know who you are, and what you are up to. And you should know I dont agree with it at all, so before you even ask..."

"The Corrupted".

Those words caused Wreckmon to stop in his tracks, and listen.

"Go on..."

"The Corrupted will go after the humans".

"They go after everything".

"No, they will deliberately go out of their way to hunt down these humans once they even get a whif of who they are. And after the noise made in Firewall City, they will have noticed. And reguardless of our...differences...we will both lose, massively, if the Corrupted get them".

"I see...so thats why you are asking for my help".

"Exactly. I want you to keep them distracted, watch and keep track of them for me...but also, keep them out of Corrupted hands. I wont bother asking you to do more then that, but I suppose you can look at it this way. You can use this as a chance to give them some training, maybe make them stronger, or smarter, or think in new ways. Whatever you would probably end up doing anyways if I didn't mention it to you. But, do not mention me to them".

"And why the hell should I do that?"

"Because, if they learn about me, about what happened to them, and about what I did to bring them here and give them their powers...and if the Corrupted were to attack as they were coping with that knowledge, we all will end up losing. And you know as well as I about what that kind of shock can do to people".

"Fine. For their sakes. But I still dont approve of what you are up to, and what you want to use these kids for. And one day, I will give you a proper punch in the face".

"We will see...good luck..."

And as he hung up, he looked at a picture...of him as a Rookie level Digimon with a human boy, in a bathtub smiling.

"...I suppose she knew exactly how to manipulate me still..."

* * *

 **AN: Wowza! Different sides teaming up! A new and mysterious enemy! And clearly lots of untold backstory! Just what is the story behind all this, how do our heroes tie into them, and what exactly is going on?! I guess to find out you will have to stay tuned to Digimon: Bonds!**

* * *

This session of DigiData has been interrupted to bring you...the (semi) custom written OP if this series was an anime!

Disclaimer: Along with the whole obvious thing that we all already know that I dont own Digimon, which is a fact for all the people here, also I do not own the song that I used. Well, I did buy it from iTunes, but I didn't make it. It is Digital from Imagine Dragons, but when I hear it, I just immediately think it would make a great opening for a Digimon show! And of course, like most songs used as opening, I only used a part of it, not the whole thing. Because any song used as an opening is never fully used. The normal text is the song, brackets are the actions inbetween the song. The actions go along with the lyrics listed before them, and 1s are because copy paste formatting issues, wanted to make it easier to read and seperate so I had to put something since fanfiction doesnt allow for blank lines:

[Shows the typical Digimon Logo with the title "Digimon: Digital Monsters", and then "Bonds" under it]

I wanna a new world without the order

1

[Shows a high up overhead view of several regions of the Digital World]

1

I wanna resurrect and live a little shorter

1

[Shows Yuyan, Kobayashi, Izumi, Rola Sharp, and Ruka and Luka Tokota waking and standing up with their Digimon, with a faint heartbeat image in the background as well that continues to re-appear periodically to the beat]

1  
I want it heavy  
I want the fury  
I want to be like the judge and the jury

1

[Shows them in various moments of danger and action, before a loud crashing sound]

1

From the outside everything moves right

1

[Shows Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi from behind, standing in a hallway looking out a window at the rain that is outside, holding hands that have the marks looking sad]

1  
From the outside, from the outside

1

[Shows the twins holding hands from behind, also with the marks, as they look through an identical window at the rain and grey clouds]

1  
From the outside everything moves right

1

[Shows Rula Sharp, a mark on her hand as she stands and looks outside at the rain]

1  
From the outside, from the outside

1

[Shows them all at the same time, standing at three identical windows at the same time]

1

We are, we are the face of the future

1

[shows them from a side view, all looking at the window as they put their right hand on the glass]

1  
We are, we are the digital heartbeat

1

[Shows them waking up in the Digital World as a more prominent heartbeat pulses]

1  
We are, we are the face of the future

We don't wanna change, we just want to change everything

1

[Shows them facing an overwhelming dark shadow, with Digimon such as Witchmon and other enemies as well]

1

Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital, digital

Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital heartbeat

Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital, digital  
We don't wanna change, we just want to change everything

1

[Heartbeat remains more pronounced as more scenes of action and digivolution appear]

1

I wanna a new world without the order  
I wanna resurrect and live a little shorter

1

[Shows various dark forces corrupting the Digital World]

1

I want it heavy  
I want the fury  
I want to be like the judge and the jury

1

[Shows the humans and Digimon fighting those partners, showing some Digivolutions with others shrouded in the background]

1

From the outside everything moves right  
From the outside, from the outside

1

[Shows Yuyan, Kobayashi, and Izumi along with their Digimon getting knocked down and beaten]

1  
From the outside everything moves right  
From the outside, from the outside

1

[Shows Rola, Ruka, and Luka with similar fates]

1

We are, we are the face of the future

1

[Shows them getting back up with faces of determination]

1  
We are, we are the digital heartbeat

1

[Stronger heartbeat pulse as they charge forward and trigger Digivolutions]

1  
We are, we are the face of the future

We don't wanna change, we just want to change everything

1

[Shows them standing together and helping each other out]

1

Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital, digital  
Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital heartbeat

1

[More action scenes as they clash against Corrupted as well, with Yuyan and Ruka clashing blades with two more advanced looking ones]

1  
Hey, hey, hey, hey, digital, digital  
We don't wanna change, we just want to change everything

[Shows the group resting in a field at the end of the song, looking up into a sunny sky and resting together, reassuring each other for the next fight]

 **AN: And opening done! Hope you enjoyed! Sorry that I didn't know how to fix the formatting and all.  
**


	12. Chapter 12: Division

Chapter 12: Division

"Ninjamon. What is the status?"

"Wreckmon managed to hold off the corrupted enough. They have made some distance, and are headed towards Access City. Still, they are being chased, and there are advanced scouts. The Corrupted are clearly going after them. Its possible they have become aware of what we are up to as well".

"I see...problematic. We cant let any of them fall into the hands of the Corrupted. Kill or Capture, anything is better then the alternative".

She looked up at all the screens. Six of them. Six DigiDestined. Six Digimon partners. All of their data was available to her. Their fears, their desires, their dreams, their nightmares. Where they grew up, where they went to school, even their favorite colors. The only ones whose data was fragmented was the twins, who had somehow arrived without her knowledge.

A mystery for sure. Who had secured their arrival? How much did they know? And why had it been them?

"I suppose I will have to start making my own preparations now, in Access City".

* * *

"Exactly how is this a shortcut?" Kobayashi yelled as they kept running. They couldn't see anything behind them, but at the same time they did not want to risk stopping.

"Well, instead of having to climb up the mountain, we are running directly through it!" Izumi explained.

"Well, couldn't it have been like, a subway or a bus?!"

"Since when has anything been so convienent for us? We dont even have spare clothes to change into when ours get wet, or even when we just wash them!"

"And food has not fallen out of the sky either!"

"Everyone, quit talking! If you have the time to talk, spend it breathing and running instead!"

The group went on like that. They felt like they had been running for over an hour, but...well, it felt like their lives depended on it. Still, they were all reaching their limits. Even Yuyan and the twins.

"...what is that sound?"

"It sounds like wooshing..."

"Please...please dont tell me..."

""...it sounds like a waterfall""

"...I am just going to use my power to waterproof my bag as much as possible".

The group kept running, and in the dark cave...they did not even realize it when they ran right off a cliff and into an underground waterfall and river with plenty of force and power.

"This was the shortcut he mentioned?!" they all cried out as they fall down into the water. To make matters worse, the river seemed to split up into three different tunnels. And for a moment, they all wondered which one would lead to Access City...

Then they saw the sign.

"All paths eventually will lead to Access City if you follow the paths and roads!"

And they all secretly wanted to go back and thrash Wreckmon.

"Vaccine Type my butt!"

"That jerk! What about hi mis a hero of justice?!"

"I should have realized from before, he likes to piss people off!"

The group tried to grab each other's hands and stay together, but the rapids were too strong. The twins were washed down the center path, Yuyan and Rula were washed down the right path, and Kobayashi and Izumi were washed down the left.

Needless to say, if any of them saw Wreckmon again, he would be in for a world of hurt. Six worlds of hurt actually.

* * *

The first thing that Yuyan felt was light hitting his face. His entire body felt heavy as his consciousness began to wake. Everything about him felt painful, as a voice rang out in his head.

"Temporary Neural Distortion. Emergency Connection Made".

"Hey! This one is showing activity!" a voice called out, but Yuyan was too tired to open his eyes.

"A spike in activity? Quickly, get the doctor! Look, his heartrate is spiking!"

"Someone, quickly give him medicine! He has a high fever!"

"Distortion Solved. Returning to Normal Function" the voice in his head said again, as he lulled back to sleep.

"Hmm...what the..." Yuyan started to mumble, as he woke up to a cold breeze. That was when he remembered what had happened, about getting swallowed up by the underground river and...

"Wha?!" he said as he gasped for air, sitting up. His body was entirely soaked still, but it appeared a heat lamp was placed over him. Furthermore, he felt unusually weak and tired despite having woken up just now.

"Doctor! He is awake again!" a young boy called out. Even though he was around Yuyan's age, he was wearing a labcoat and glasses as if he was a doctor.

"Fufufu" a female voice called out, as a strange and non-human being entered. It looked almost like Wizardmon, but instead dressed as a doctor. "I told you. As Docmon, you can just call me that instead of Doctor, Teiko-sensei".

"Sorry, Docmon-sensei, but Doctor just seems easier" he replied, before looking back at Yuyan and the bed next to him. He looked over, and Rula was there, also wet, naked, and under a hot lamp.

Yuyan wanted to comment about something getting annoying, but kept it to himself. He was more curious on why the boy in front of them seemed totally unphased...and what was going on.

"Umm..." Yuyan said, when he ended up nearly collapsing in his attempt to sit up. "...what is going on with us?"

"You are suffering from hypothermia. Too much time in cold water, wearing soaking wet clothes. We found you washed up on the riverside and rescued you and your Digimon. Your Digimon are fine, they are used to colder temperatures then us humans. But you two...ah yes. I hope you dont mind, but to make sure your condition did not get worse, we had to remove your clothes. We have used a few towels to dry your bodies, and are finishing it with heat lamps to also keep you warm".

"So then, this whole situation..."

"I am used to it. You would not believe how many people wash down this river. Some even report that there is a photo flash near the end or something as if it was a water ride..."

 _I am going to kill Wreckmon when I see him!_

"...but we think its probably just some hallucinations".

 _Fat chance! Wreckmon is totally doing that to screw with us! When I get my hands on him, I will give him a good thrashing!_

 _That jerk...he knows this is how it would end up too! He has to if he put so many through this! I am going to kill him!_

Yuyan and Rula had various murderous thoughts towards Wreckmon, but at the moment, neither of them could act on it. However, it let them forget about their current situation for a bit.

"I see...how long till we are good to go?"

"Hmmm. Once you warm up, you should be fine, but...I would say you should stay a day. Oh, and also...Dorumon, Hackmon, you can come in and see them now!"

With those words, Dorumon and Hackmon rushed in to make sure they were okay.

"Are you okay?" "We were so worried!" "Humans need to be more durable!" "Should I hack your code and make you feel better?" "Let us give you a sponge bath to help out!" "Here, let us replace the bins under you for you to do your business in!"

""Guys, calm it! And dont do anything without our permission!""

""Kaaaayyy".

"Anyways, just rest up for now. Just a guess, but you are in a hurry to reach Access City right?"

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Well, thats why most people take the river. That river flows the right way that its a fast way to take, although people usually dont realize they have to spend a whole day afterwards drying off, or they get incredibly sick. And maybe die".

"Die?!"

"At least, thats the theory".

"Anyways...exactly how much time gets saved?"

"Well, tell me...how many mountains did you cross before you got in the river?"

"How many? Wasn't it just the one?"

"Nope. That river goes under five treacherous mountains full of sharp fulls, thin and unstable cliffs, and dangerous Digimon".

Both of them felt a bit of shock...five?

""HOLD ON! WE WENT UNDER FIVE MOUNTAINS AND DIDN'T DROWN?!""

"Ah. The river is special in that its data doesnt allow it to drown people. Sure, you can lose consciousness, but thats more of a psychological aspect of thinking you lost breath...I think..."

"...the Digital World is amazing..."

"...water that cant drown people...thats interesting..."

""That would be great for a water park!""

"Anyways...its probably safe to give you some patient robes in the meantime..."

""You had those?! Why didn't you give us them already?!""

"We needed you to be directly under the heat lamps? Anyways, just hang tight!"

The two of them left, while Yuyan and Rula just sighed.

"I wonder how the others are doing?"

* * *

"You get the fire going?"

"Yeah. With this, us and our clothes will get dry in no time".

"I really dont see the issue though..."

"Me neither...but maybe we are just more laidback then the others?"

"Or maybe its because we are siblings" Luka mentioned as she scooted next to Ruka for warmth. "Where are we anyways?"

Ruka held up the Digivice, and a map appeared.

"According to this, it seems that we made an entire months worth of progress. Worth a little chill and wetness I would say. If all three paths really do lead to Access City, then we will meet the others there or on the way".

"So instead of like a two month journey, its one month now? That really was a shortcut".

The twins notably frowned and scowled though when they thought of it.

"But that Wreckmon...that was a terrible experience. Rapids, drenching, nearly drowning. I am amazed we didn't drown".

"...I think a photo was even taken at the end. Someone is going to pay later".

""Namely Wreckmon"".

And so, the twins seemed to be faring better then Yuyan and Rula.

* * *

Kobayashi and Izumi were in the same situation as the others, but because they had been friends for so long, they were also good.

Well, they were out in the woods as night was falling, so not totally comfortable, but they were talking about other things to get over it and pass the time.

"So, lets just be clear. What do you think the Corrupted are?"

"Do you know, Patamon? Gabumon?"

"Not a clue".

"I heard a rumor about scary people attacking, but nothing specific".

"Hmmm...if the Digital World is made of data, then maybe its like a virus? Like, not a Virus Type Digimon, but an actual Virus?"

"Like some form of sentient Malware?"

"Whatever it is, its trouble. But yeah, something like that. Wreckmon seemed concerned about it getting its hands on us...more then usual I think".

"Do we really know what is usual for that guy? I mean, his shortcut involved underground rivers, waterfalls, and getting us soaked".

"True...still, he seemed shaken. I wonder...how terrible are The Corrupted really?"

As they sat around the fire, Izumi looked up at the stars.

"...Kobayashi, did you have any strange dreams when we passed out in that underground river?"

"Yeah...for a moment, this voice spoke in my head, and told me something about some connection, or...a corruption of it...or somehting like that".

"Same...not sure what that was about, but...I got the feeling it was trouble. ANd that beeping sound..."

The two turned their heads and looked at each other. They had finally come up with the main question that had been bothering them, the thing that they were pretty sure was part of the mystery the enemy did not want them to solve. It was time to say it, out loud.

""How did we get here in the first place? Why us, specifically?"" they said, though it felt as if their voices echoed across entire worlds at the significance.

* * *

 **AN:** A short chapter, but couldn't be helped. Not every chapter can be long. Anyways, finally got them divided! A critical part of any Digimon story is when they get seperated and have to keep going while hoping they meet up again! But they sure did cut off a lot of travel time! Still, that question...it is rather significant. No one knows how they got their after all, and I think its worth thinking about and theorizing! Stay tuned!


End file.
